Cracking the Shell
by rowanceleste
Summary: AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that she may not want to be just 'normal' after all. I am finally continuing this story. I hope you enjoy it!
1. Chapter 1

**Author:** rowanceleste  
**Pairing / Character:** Logan, Veronica, Duncan, hints of V/D, Veronica/Logan UST  
**Rating:** PG, but may eventually get to NC-17 as the story progresses  
**Word Count:** 2879  
**Summary:** AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that she may not want to be just 'normal' after all.  
**Spoilers / Warnings:** Through "Ahoy Mateys" (2x08) and possible spoilers up to 2x10 "One Angry Veronica"  
**Disclaimer:** I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of Veronica Mars. No copyright infringement is intended.  
**Author's note:** Transcript assistance provided by vmtranscripts. This is a fic I had posted a while ago both to my LJ and to veronicamarsfic, but I thought I would dust it off and share it with others. This was actually my first VM fic. Others can be found through my LJ.

"Did Duncan go to bed?" Veronica asks as she glances across the darkened living room.

"Yes. And he wanted me to tell you to give me your undivided attention. Pretend for a moment that your dog's life is at stake!" Logan retorts impatiently. He waits for Veronica to glance back in his direction before stating, 'Hey, maybe this doctor is a pipeline to prescription drugs? That's how my pediatrician lost his license."

"It's pretty easy to check on something like that" She responds as she heads over to her laptop.

He waits for Veronica to take a seat, before sitting down on the back of the couch and glancing over her shoulder.

"Apparently Dr Griffith was reprimanded..." She states as she continues reading, "something about an inappropriate off-site practice. Patient's name is…Danny Boyd"

Logan looks from the laptop screen to Veronica. "So what does that mean?"

"I don't know, but I'll check it out tomorrow." Veronica replies as she powers down her laptop before standing up and stretching. "We should get some sleep, it's late."

Logan swings his legs over the back of the couch and stands up, waiting for Veronica to leave so he can go to bed. His heart clenches a little as he watches her head towards Duncan's room rather than towards the hotel room door. Staring after her, he bites his tongue before he tells her that she should make sure Duncan suits up because who knows where he's been lately? _The last thing he wants to do is say something to wake Duncan up. It's bad enough imagining them sleeping and cuddling together, but if Duncan wakes up, who knows what they could be doing instead?_

She pauses at Duncan's bedroom door as she feels Logan standing in the living room, staring at her. She glances back at him awkwardly, "Good Night, Logan"

"Yeah, good night." Logan responds abruptly, turning to head into his bedroom and shut the door. He gets ready for bed, running his hand through his hair in frustration as he realizes he's hoping he dreams of waking up on a bridge with a bloody knife in his hand rather than of Duncan and Veronica cuddling in each other's arms.

Veronica walks out of the bathroom as she finishes getting ready for bed and looks over at Duncan. She can tell he's feigning sleep and she wonders if he overheard her working with Logan and it bothered him._ Either way._ He obviously didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering him and she didn't want to talk to Duncan about Logan's problems either. Veronica slips into bed next to Duncan and adjusts the covers around her. Veronica relaxes slightly as she feels a pair of warm arms surround her and she's cocooned into Duncan's body._ This is why I'm with him. This warm, security blanket feeling when everything else in my life seems so chaotic._ Veronica feels a pair of lips brush the top of her head.

'"G'night baby."

"Good night, Duncan" Veronica whispers back as she drifts into sleep.

Logan feels himself suddenly pulled from a deep sleep as he hears the outer hotel room door slam and Duncan call out from the living room "Veronica….wait!" He glances at his bedside clock blearily and notes it's barely 5am in the morning. _What the hell?_ Rolling out of bed, he pads into the living room to find out what's going on. "Hey man, everything okay? Did Veronica just leave?"

Duncan looks at Logan indecisively, as he rubs his hands over his face. "Yeah, everything's okay. I should probably go after her though."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He hopes he doesn't regret the offer, but Duncan is still his best friend and he looks like he could use some support.

Duncan shrugs helplessly and gives into the temptation to share, "I've been having these dreams lately. Of Meg. Since the bus crash. Meg keeps asking me to save her." He shrugs helplessly again. "Anyway, I called out Meg's name and Veronica freaked out and left…" Duncan looks at Logan. "I love Veronica; it's just that I keep having these dreams about Meg…"

Logan looks at his best friend and decides it probably won't help if he confesses he also dreams about his ex-girlfriend as well. _And he doesn't mean Lilly. Or Caitlin. Or Kendall for that matter._ "Sorry man, is there anything I can do?"

"No" Duncan looks at him seriously. "Thanks for listening though, I appreciate it. I need to go find Veronica or call her or something".

Logan gestures to Duncan's boxers in amusement as they stand in the living room, "Okay, but if you're going to go find Veronica, you should probably put some pants on first."

Duncan looks at his lack of attire and shakes his head. "Yeah, you're right." He heads back into his bedroom to get dressed, glancing up in surprise when he meets up with Logan in the living room afterward. "Hey, I figured you'd go back to bed. What are you doing already dressed?"

Tossing his keys in the air, Logan shrugs. "I figured since I was already awake, I'd meet up with Dick and go surfing".

Duncan punches Logan on the shoulder, before throwing him a salute. "That's a good idea."

They each exit the hotel suite, lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

Veronica continues to walk along the beach, Backup's leash held loosely in her hand. _It's amazing how one little word or name could rip away an entire security blanket,_ she contemplates. _Meg._ Shock had propelled her out of the hotel suite, down to her car and all the way home. What had amazed her was the secondary emotion that followed closely on the heels of that shock. _Relief._ Veronica feels the guilt lift off her heart that she was the one preventing her and Duncan from going back to being the perfect couple, that her changes over the past year were what was keeping them from going back to that normal, high school couple that dreamed about the big dance and moonlight walks on the beach. _If Duncan's in love with Meg, then it's not my fault for not loving Duncan enough or not being happy with being normal. If Duncan and I did break up, it wouldn't mean that I was still in love with someone else and I was being the dishonest one...not that I am in love with anyone else, of course. _Veronica glances up and sighs as Backup tugs excitedly on his leash and pulls her forward towards the parking lot. _Speak of the devil and he materializes. Or think of the devil in this case. _She looks at the figure sprawled over the hood of her car and the bright yellow Xterra parked in the next spot.

Logan slides off the hood of the LeBaron as Veronica walks towards him. He steps onto the beach and walks a few feet towards her before stopping. "Hey, you okay? Duncan said you were upset this morning when you left. He went looking for you."

Veronica tries not to dwell on the fact that Logan and Duncan both went looking for her but Logan was obviously the one that knew where to find her.

Logan gestures to Backup and answers her unspoken question. "I know you usually take Backup for a walk or run when something upsets you. Duncan probably went to your apartment." "So, you okay?" Logan looks Veronica over as she nods slightly. He expected to see her red eyed and puffy, but although she looked sad, she didn't appear devastated. _Maybe it wasn't as big a deal as he thought and she'd forgive Duncan his faux pas?_ Logan opens his mouth to ask and is interrupted when Veronica's cell phone rings. "That's probably Duncan".

Veronica looks at her cell phone ID and acknowledges his guess. "Hey Duncan…no, I'm alright, no, it's okay, I'm sorry I left like that…"

Logan listens to Veronica's side of the conversation and thinks _maybe Veronica's love is a forgiving sort of love…For Saint Duncan that is._ Logan shoves his hands into his pockets and waits for Veronica to finish her phone call.

"I'll stop by your place tonight." Veronica looks at Logan. "No, I can't right now. I promised I'd help my Dad with a case today, but I'll see you tonight okay?"

Logan raises his eyebrow and mouths, 'Dad?' He smirks as Veronica glares at him and smacks him in the chest.

"What?" Veronica asks as she tries to ignore him and listen to Duncan. "Yeah, I love you too, Duncan. See you tonight."

Logan rubs his chest as Veronica snaps her phone shut. "You know, you hit hard for a tiny blonde chick."

"What does my hair color have to do with how hard I hit someone?" Veronica rolls her eyes as she retorts "and don't call me a chick, I'm not a baby duck!"

"Well, actually a baby duck would be a duckling, not a chick".

Veronica pulls the conversational reigns back on track before they get lost in the tangent of proper names for animal babies _or God forbid, her relationship with Duncan._ "Hello? Danny Boyd? Murder charge? Research? Want to focus here? We can leave my car here and take yours if you don't mind if we take Backup in your truck."

They both ignore the unspoken thought that if they take Backup back to her apartment; they may run into Duncan and have to explain why she was not with not her Dad.

Logan walks back to his truck and opens the rear passenger door. "You know I don't mind." Logan pats the seat as Veronica lets go of Backup's leash. "Come on, buddy, you know the drill, back seat!"

Backup jumps into the back seat easily and settles into what's obviously a familiar position in the back seat of Logan's truck.

* * *

Veronica and Logan look at the small, rundown house and compare the address to that on file for Danny Boyd. "This is it," she verifies.

"The owner of this dump sprang for plastic surgery?" Logan questions. He turns off the engine and reaches for the door handle as Veronica hops to the pavement.

She shakes her head at both Logan and Backup. "Uh uh. Now you boys stay here and be good. This takes a certain subtlety." Veronica calls over her shoulder and winks, "If I need anyone punched in the face or chomped, I'll whistle for ya!"

Patting Backup on the head in commiseration, they watch Veronica walk up to Danny Boyd's front door. "Regulated to useless sidekicks, aren't we boy?" He comments as Backup whines softly. He clenches the steering wheel tightly as he sees Danny Boyd ogle Veronica from the doorway._ I hope she's not stupid enough to go inside, I wouldn't trust that guy as far as I could throw him._ Logan lets out a relieved breath as he watches the guy step out of his house and close the door behind him. _Okay, I'm glad they didn't go inside, but where the hell are they going now?_ He puts his hand on Backup's collar as the pit bull stands up and looks ready to jump out the window after Veronica. "Hold on, boy…you know she'll just get pissed off if we go charging after her. Let's give her a little time to work her Veronica magic."

Logan looks at the clock on the dash as five minutes go by. As ten more minutes pass, he glances at Backup. "Hey, boy, shall we go find Mommy? Want to go find Veronica?" Snapping Backup's leash into place, both of them jump down from the truck. Logan eyes Backup sternly. "Just remember, when she asks, you had to go pee and that's why we left the truck, okay?" He feels his shoulder practically rip out of its socket as Backup lunges forward, intent on finding Veronica. As they head into the backyard, Logan eyes the pit bull chained to a post and tries to short leash Backup. _Crap. Veronica will kill me if Backup gets injured in a dog fight._ Backup ignores the lunging pit bull, much to Logan's surprise and keeps pulling him towards a building near the back of the property. "Good boy! Find Veronica!" The pitbull continues to tug him towards a dimly lit doorway and as Logan's eyes adjust to the light, he spots Veronica pinned to the top of a pool table, her hands grasping at the hand that's clamped around her throat. He drops Backup's leash just as the dog spots his owner and lunges forward.

Veronica watches Liam's head turn in surprise as he hears a feral growl. The hand around her throat suddenly loosens and she scrambles off the pool table to see that ninety pounds of pure, pissed off pit bull can knock a heavier man to the ground.

"Veronica! C'mon! Let's go!" Logan grabs her messenger bag from the floor as she hurries towards him. Pushing Veronica towards the doorway, he follows behind her.

"Boy! Call off your dog!"

Logan glances towards the guy at the bar who obviously thought Backup was his dog.

The bar grows quiet as all eyes focus on Backup and his massive jaws that are clamped around Liam's throat.

Veronica rubs her throat convulsively as she looks at Backup before she checks to make sure the doorway is still unblocked.

Logan feels Veronica squeeze his hand and sees her nod to the door.

They edge slowly through the doorway, breaking into a run as Veronica yells over her shoulder, 'Backup, be cool, let's go!' Almost reaching the truck, they see Backup suddenly come flying towards them. Throwing open the passenger door for Backup to leap inside, Logan starts the car and pulls away as soon as all four paws hit the seat, the momentum closing the side door behind Backup. She looks in the rear view mirror to see if they're being chased. "Why weren't they right behind him?"

Logan slows the truck to a more normal speed as he feels his heart slow down a little as well "They're probably checking to see if Liam needs to go to the hospital."

Veronica shakes her head. "Backup wouldn't have crushed his throat unless I was still in danger."

Glancing at Backup in appreciation, Logan smiles briefly. "Well, he looked pissed off enough to do it in my book, so I can see why they'd want to check first."

Silence envelops the truck as they continue driving, the adrenaline rush slowly working out of their system. Veronica opens her eyes when she feels him stop the car and park. She glances over at the next spot and eyes her LeBaron. _God, has it only been an hour or so?_ Unsnapping her seat belt, she feels her shoulders start to shake in delayed reaction.

Logan looks at her in concern as she starts to cry. "Hey, it's okay" He tells her softly, rubbing her back in soothing strokes.

Launching herself into Logan's arms, she misses his look of surprise as his arms close around her. Hot tears spill from her eyes as she buries her face in his chest. "Oh God, Logan, I was so scared! I thought he was going to kill me! You saved me! I lo-." She swallows the rest of the words that were slipping from her tongue as fast as her tears were falling.

He clutches her tightly, as the reality of almost losing her sweeps over him. _Not that she was still his to lose or anything._

Veronica feels Logan stiffen against her and she pulls away, wiping the tears from her eyes. She sniffles and gives him a watery smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bawl all over you." She brushes his shirt ineffectively. "I got your shirt all wet".

Logan brushes the hair from her face. "That's okay, it's used to salt water, although the snot probably didn't do it much good."

Punching him on the shoulder, Veronica laughs as she wipes the remaining tears from her eyes. "I did not get snot on you. Eww! Those were just tears."

He shrugs with apparent unconcern for his attire and reaches back to scratch Backup behind the ears. "You're getting steaks for the rest of your life, boy!"

Veronica nods in agreement and reaches back to hug and kiss Backup. "You're a good boy! I love you so much!"

Smirking to himself, he watches Veronica lavish love and attention upon Backup. _Great, Echolls. Jealous of a dog._

Veronica notices the expression on Logan's face as he turns off the Xterra's engine and she blushes in embarrassment. _I thought he was the drama queen in our relationship? Here I am, bawling and throwing myself into his arms and then slobbering all over my dog. At least I didn't blurt out that I love him._ She looks at him and gathers Backup's leash quickly in hand. "Thanks. I'll see you at school?" She waits for Logan's nod and jumps out of the truck, Backup following her over the console and out the front seat.

As Backup jumps into the backseat of the LeBaron, Logan hands Veronica her messenger bag through the window. She blushes again, embarrassed that she forgot her bag in her haste to leave the scene of her emotional meltdown. "Actually, I'll probably see you tonight. I told Duncan I'd stop by, remember?"

Logan feels a mask slip across his face. _Ahhh yes. Can't forget about good old Duncan._ He nods in acknowledgement. "Okay. I guess I'll see you tonight, if I'm home." Remembering the events of that morning, he stares out the windshield._ If I had called out another woman's name while I was in bed with Veronica, yes, I'd be a moron, but I'm pretty sure I'd be a maimed, tasered moron. Saint Duncan gets an 'its okay, I'm sorry I left like that?" _He starts the truck, shakes his head, wondering if God just likes torturing him and waves goodbye to Veronica as she starts her LeBaron and heads back home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author:** Rowanceleste  
**Pairing / Character:** Logan, Veronica, Duncan, hints of V/D, Veronica/Logan UST  
**Rating:** Part II is PG-13, Part III is NC-17 for violence and sexual situations  
**Word Count:** 1,336 & 3, 039  
x-posted to **veronicamarsfic**  
**Summary:** AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that normal isn't everything it's cracked up to be…  
**Spoilers / Warnings:** Through "Ahoy Mateys" (2x08) and possible spoilers up to 2x10 "One Angry Veronica"

**Part II**

Taking a deep breath, Veronica knocks on the door of the hotel suite. As the door opens, she is crushed in a hug and then pulled into the room.

Duncan glances back over his shoulder as he tells her, "I rented the South Park movie; I thought we could watch it tonight."

_Points for knowing my favorite movie, Duncan, but how long can we keep playing these avoidance games so we don't have to discuss anything real?_ She stops walking and waits until he turns to look at her. "Do you mind if we go to the beach instead? We can watch the movie later."

Confusion etches his face and Duncan hesitates briefly before agreeing to her request. "Sure, if you want, let me just get my keys..."

* * *

Logan rests his forehead against the door as the key slot wavers in front of him. "Stupid door must be drunk!" He manages to slide his key into the slot and stumbles into the room as the door finally opens. He looks around in surprise as he fails to hear the make-up sex he was positive would be going on in the other room. _Maybe the alcohol really is working to drown them out and I just can't hear them?_ The quiet of the apartment finally reaches through his alcohol fogged brain and he notices the South Park movie on the coffee table. _Maybe they went to Canada? Stupid Canadians and their flapping heads._ He turns suddenly as he hears pounding on the front door and heads back the way he came. Managing to open the door after two tries, he watches as Dick and Beaver fall into the room in a pile and start laughing.

"Hey man, we wanted to make sure you made it home okay!"

Sliding down the wall, he joins Dick and Beaver on the floor, deciding it was easier than helping them stand up. "So you drove over here drunk to make sure my drunk ass made it home?"

Dick nods in agreement and yells drunkenly, 'Hey that's what buds are for!" He looks around the apartment in curiosity, "So, where's Duncan and that skank Surfboard Maimer, I mean Veronica?"

Shrugging, Logan lets the insult go as he responds, "Don't know where they went and don't care."

"You mean we've got the place to ourselves? That's a cause to celebrate! Turn on the music, get the hooch and let's party!" Dick yells fervently.

Beaver looks drunkenly at cohorts in disbelief. "Party? We're lying on the floor in an entryway right now!"

Shaking a finger at Beaver in admonishment, Logan slides his body up the wall until he's standing. "Ahhh, young Grasshopper. Do not underestimate our powers of drunken recovery or our need to party!" He sways drunkenly, weaving his way over to the stereo to turn it on. "Beaver, my good man! Bring us more alcohol!"

* * *

Veronica steps onto the beach and turns to wait as Duncan takes off his socks and shoes before he reaches out to grab her hand. They walk in silence for a few minutes as the wave's pound rhythmically against the shore. _Come on, Veronica, just pull the plug. There haven't been any signs of life in this relationship for weeks_. "Do you ever feel like we're pretending?" Veronica asks finally as she looks over at him.

"I don't understand. Pretending what?" Duncan asks in confusion, as he stops walking and looks at her.

She takes a deep breath and looks him in the eye before admitting what she's been feeling for weeks, "It feels like we keep trying to pretend that last year never happened and we're still the exact same people that played 'I Never' on the beach with Lilly." Veronica confesses softly.

Duncan looks at her for a minute before shrugging and asking, "So, what's wrong with that? What was so great about last year anyway?"

Falling silent momentarily, Veronica absorbs Duncan's willingness to ignore an entire year like it never happened. She sighs in frustration as she tries to articulate her feelings. "We can't just pretend as if the entire year didn't exist, Duncan, regardless of whether it was great or not. We're different people now." _For instance, the old Veronica would have never dated Logan Echolls. _

Duncan looks at her before asking stubbornly, "How are we different? I still love you and you still love me. Nothing else should matter!"

Looking out over the ocean, she lets out the deep breath she was holding. "You say you love me, but you called out Meg's name while we were in bed together. You read through all of her private emails and you go and visit her in the hospital almost every day. Are you really sure it's _me_ you're in love with, Duncan?" She asks in exasperation.

"Is that what this is about? Do you think I'm in love with Meg or something?" he asks incredulously.

"I don't know, Duncan, are you? It's not like you talk to me about anything, so how on Earth would I know?" Frustration coats Veronica's voice as tries to get through to him.

Feeling panic overwhelm him, Duncan scrambles for a response. "Veronica, I love you! We're meant to be together!" he states doggedly. Grabbing her shoulders, he squeezes her unconsciously, trying to convey his fear at the thought of losing her. He watches as she shakes her head slowly.

"What we had before was amazing, Duncan, but we're not the same people anymore." Veronica looks at him, willing him to understand. "Admitting that it's time to let our relationship go and move on doesn't make what we had any less special. We're just different people now."

"You maybe fine pretending you're still the same guy, Duncan, but I'm finally tired of pretending to be that girl," she admits softly.

Thinking back to his dream that morning, he realizes that least in his dreams he acknowledged that there was a new Veronica. He ponders the idea that maybe _his Veronica wasn't anything like this Veronica_ before shoving his hands into his pockets and staring out across the water. "So where does that leave us now?" he asks uncertainly.

Veronica threads her arm through his own before him squeezing tightly and responding, "I'm hoping it makes us friends. As long as you don't mind hanging out with the real me!" A brief smile crosses her face. "I love pit bulls and my taser more than sunshine and kittens now, but it's not such a bad deal," Veronica teases.

Looking slightly nervous at the thought of her taser, Duncan shrugs helplessly. "Well, I'd rather be your friend than your enemy. You make a scary enemy!" he confesses with an uneasy laugh as they head back to the car.

* * *

The sound of music blaring permeates the corridor from the penthouse suite. Balancing the half empty bottle of Jack Daniels that he picked up after he dropped off his now ex-girlfriend, Duncan opens the door. Heading towards the stereo, he looks at Dick, Beaver and Logan sprawled out on the couch, empty liquor bottles littered around them. Raising his bottle in a silent salute, he takes a drink before turning down the stereo. He glances over and notices Logan's awkward sprawl, before sighing heavily and giving Logan a gentle kick awake. "Unlike like Tweedledum and Tweedledee snoring over there, you actually have a room here. Do want me to help you get there or do you prefer the couch?" he asks Logan with a smirk.

Opening his eyes in response to the kick, Logan manages to push himself off the couch, waving away the offer of assistance as he walks unsteadily to his room. He flips Duncan the bird over his shoulder, proud of his solo accomplishment. He closes his door, crawls into bed and briefly contemplates if Duncan's half-empty bottle of JD meant there was trouble in paradise before he once again passes out into oblivion.

* * *

Part III

Veronica puts the last of the books in her locker when a familiar hand prevents her locker door from closing. She glances over at Logan and notes that he seems to look pretty good for the hangover she imagines he must be feeling after passing out with Dick and Beaver last night.

"So, any news on Nip/Schmuck?" He asks casually.

Veronica shakes her head before responding, "No, but it's pretty clear, isn't it? Our favorite plastic surgeon, for whatever reason, seems to be owned by the Fighting Fitzpatricks."

Shrugging, Logan absorbs the information. "As far as I know, I've done nothing to get their Irish up."

"And I'm working on the connections, okay?" Veronica replies somewhat defensively. _Well, okay, I wasn't thinking about the Fitzpatricks last night or Logan's problems when I was breaking up with Duncan, but it's not like I completely dropped the ball._

Logan looks at the girl who had the irritating tendency of haunting his dreams and wondered if she thought about him at all last night. _She was probably too busy drawing hearts and flowers around Duncan's name and having that make-up sex...just because Duncan came home drunk doesn't mean she's mad at him or they broke up._ "Hey, if you could exonerate me sometime soon, that would be great. I really don't want a bottom bunk in Fisty McRapesalot's cell." He mentions sarcastically.

"Well, if you want a top, I'm sure that's negotiable!" She quips in response. _If only he was made of gingerbread, I could bite his head off and be able to skip lunch as well_. A wistful expression briefly crosses her face at the thought.

Mask finally falling away, a serious expression settles on Logan's face. "Help me, Mars-wan Kenobi, you're my only hope," he utters before slapping his hand against her locker in frustration and walking off.

Sighing in response, she watches Logan walk away. _Great. Veronica Mars - "Logan Echolls's only hope". Its times like these I really wish for a magic wand._ She slams her locker shut, ready to head to her next class when she notices Weevil watching her. Walking over to him, she asks enquiringly, "I'm feeling the calculating stare, but where's the villainous hand-wringing and maniacal laugh?"

Weevil looks at her steadily. "You know, you should be nicer to me." He continues to stare at her, his arms hanging loosely at his side.

"Or you'll huff and puff and burn my house down?" Veronica mocks. Her hands clench into fists at Weevil's lack of response. _He doesn't even care that Logan lost everything! Is this the kind of person that Weevil really is and I just didn't notice because he loved Lilly too? Burning someone's home down and working with the Irish mafia?_

"You lied to me! What? Are you working for the Fitzpatricks now, is that it?" She retorts angrily as she thinks about her nerve wracking encounter at the River Stix just yesterday.

Weevil's eyes widen in surprise. "Lied? I'd be dead before I worked for those micks!" he retorts disparagingly.

Barely resisting the urge to commit physical violence, she grits her teeth. "Methed-up lunatics, I believe, is what you called them before… giving me the impression that you didn't get along so nice." Veronica responds furiously. "Imagine my surprise when the new star witness in Felix's murder case turns out to be a Fitzpatrick puppet!" Veronica looks at Weevil coldly, stating as she walks away, "They're scratching your back. My question is, how are you scratching theirs?"

Walking around the corner, Logan sighs in frustration as he sees the white van blocking his truck. _Gee, you'd think they'd have a better class of clientele near liquor stores that sell to minors_, he contemplates. "What is wrong with people?" he ponders as he heads for the driver's door of the van to tell the guy to move his piece of crap vehicle out of the way. Before he reaches the driver's side door, stars burst front of his eyes as he walks right into someone's fist. He feels a hand slap his face as the darkness starts to lift from his mind. _What the hell?_ A drum-like throbbing echoes in his head and tries to shake himself awake.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!"

As Logan's eyes start to gain focus, he realizes he's not only tied up, but surrounded by masked men. "What the hell is this?" he asks, as fear starts to creep up his spine. _Whatever this is, it can't be good._

"It's the people's court, Junior. You're on trial for the murder of Felix Toombs." someone responds. "Sorry I don't have a Bible to swear on, but I'll get the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God," the man continues threateningly.

Logan flinches as his head is grabbed and turned to the face a different man in a mask. "That's your judge and jury".

His head is shoved back down as the first man indicates himself, "I'm your prosecution".

Trying to pull his arms free, Logan feels the cold sweat of fear as he comes to the realization that he's not ready for his life to be over yet, regardless of his previous balancing act on the Coronado Bridge. He looks at the cell phone in masked guy #1's hand and wonders how the hell he can represent himself when he doesn't know what happened? Struggling against his bonds, he barely notes his captor talking on the phone and then gesturing to the second guy.

"Okay, he's all yours, judge". His heart starts to race even harder until it's almost bursting out of his chest as the man deemed his judge walks towards him with a gun in his hand.

A metallic taste coats his tongue as he watches the guy referred to as his judge spin the cylinder of the gun and take aim at his hand. Logan yells in fear, "No! C'mon man, don't!" He feels his gut clench as he's told, "One in six says you take a bullet." _Were they serious? This can't be happening!_ A loud click echoes in the room and he flinches in response as he braces himself for the pain in his hand. His muscles begin to tremble as the room snaps back into focus and he hears a voice asking him what happened again. "I can't remember! I swear to God! I can't remember!" he confesses urgently.

"You're a killer, aren't you boy? Just like your old man."

Logan feels despair pull at him he hears the voice taunt him. _I'm nothing like him. I'm not a killer! Oh God, please let them believe me!_

Flinching in response as the judge pulls the trigger again, he almost weeps in relief as the anticipated pain does not bloom in his hand. "Please stop, okay? I don't know anything! Dammit, man, I swear!" he pleads.

"You know what the problem is? This boy doesn't care about his hand. Let's try some more valuable real estate." the voice states harshly.

Logan watches in horror as the gun is moved towards his kneecap. His wrists start to burn and bile churns in his gut as he continues to struggle fruitlessly against his bonds in increased panic. "Come on, man! No! Please, come on! Please, don't! Listen to me! Why would I lie, you guys?" Logan watches in agitation as the first man puts the cell phone back to his ear.

His heart stops as the man turns to his judge and jury and states, "Okay, that's it." _Oh God! Please! I don't want to die!_ Logan pulls harder at the ropes as tears well in his eyes. His heart starts beating again, but the sound is so loud, he can barely hear anything else. He almost faints in relief as he hears the first man report that they were done for the night.

Logan is jarred back to conscious as the van he was tossed into slows to a stop. As the man called his prosecutor glances away from him, he reaches into the man's pocket and palms his cell phone before closing his eyes again. Pain radiates through his body as he feels the impact of the hard ground against him when they toss him from the van. Breathing through the pain, he slowly climbs to his feet and looks at his abductor's cell phone in his hand. He stares at the phone briefly before hitting redial. As a familiar voice answers, Logan pauses to take a deep breath before responding, "Oh it's just getting started, Weevs. You have no idea of the hell you've just brought on yourself." He snaps the phone shut before looking around at the deserted stretch of highway. Hesitating briefly, he reaches into his pocket to grab his own cell phone, unsure if he was making the right decision, even as he dialed the number. A sleepy voice answers and Logan contemplates calling a cab before he gives in to impulse and says quietly, "Hey…I need a ride…" Calm relief rushes through his shaking body at the unquestioning response he receives.

"Okay. Just tell me where you are..."

He takes another deep breath and lets it out, before sitting down on the side of the road to wait for Veronica.

The alarm clock blares loudly, waking Veronica from the depths of sleep. _No snooze button for me today. I'm ready to kick some ass and take some names!_ Walking to her closet, she looks through her clothes. _What does one does one wear to kick ass, wreak havoc and maybe distract myself from the crappy morning I'm already having so far?_ She gets dressed and then looks at herself in the mirror, adjusting her skirt as she hears a wolf whistle behind her. _Fashion Goddess approved?_ Veronica looks in the mirror again as she sees Lilly lying on her bed.

"Veronica Mars, you are looking hot! You don't even need a lethal weapon to make men drop at your feet today!" Lilly giggles.

"Ahhh, but it's a two-part plan, Lilly. Phase I requires the actual weapon. Phase II requires the outfit to distract a certain boy from the crappy day he's already had so far."

Lilly giggles again, "Veronica Mars, you wild woman you! I'm so proud! I miss you! We _so_ would have ruled the school!"

Veronica watches in sadness as Lilly fades away like always. "I miss you too. We would have totally ruled!" she agrees softly. Checking the time, she looks over in the corner of the room. She grimaces at the pseudo-baby sitting in a baby carrier on top of the dresser. "Guess you're coming with me while I kick ass, wreak havoc and make certain boys swallow their tongue, kid."

* * *

Pulling into the parking lot, Veronica formulates her plan for the day. _First order of business. Ass kicking._ She grabs the pseudo-baby from her car seat, automatically drawn to the large crowd around the flagpole. _What's going on here?_ She stares at the scene in surprise before turning her baby's head to look at Weevil taped to the flagpole. "Life lesson #1, kid -What goes around comes around." Waiting for the crowd to disperse, Veronica walks up to a chagrined Weevil. "Sometimes those life lessons are a bitch, huh?" Her knife flashes briefly as she cuts him down with a sunny smile. "Ohhh and one other thing?" Looking Weevil in the eye, she jabs her taser into his chest and presses the button. "Those life lessons aren't the only bitch, so you may want to warn Flopsie and Mopsie because when I figure out which ones they are, I'm coming for them too!" Veronica smiles again as she looks at Weevil lying on the ground. Ignoring his loud groan, she picks up her baby carrier and heads to class.

Sitting down at the lunch table, Veronica readies herself to put phase II of her plan into action. She grins at Duncan's wolf whistle before he sits down at her table.

"Looking extremely hot today, Veronica!" he comments as he wiggles his eyebrows at her.

Smirking, she replies, "Careful, Duncan! Don't make me tell your girlfriend." _Keep the evil grin on the inside, Veronica! _she tells herself as she sees Logan pause in confusion on the way past their table.

Unable to resist, Logan retorts sarcastically, "Split personality issues again, Mars?"

Veronica pauses before responding in an innocent voice. "Well, yes, actually. You see…Bad Veronica wanted to wear the micro-mini skirt and go commando…Good Veronica wanted to wear jeans again." She watches Logan choke on his soda and look at her skirt as she crosses her legs. "Sometimes, it's hard not to give into the dark side when the force is strong in you." Looking at Logan out of the corner of her eye, she grins internally at his dazed expression. _Okay, I think he did actually swallow his tongue. At least he won't be thinking about Russian Roulette all day! _She winks at Duncan, waves to Logan and stands up. "Well, duty calls! I promised Van the man, I'd stop by." Smiling to herself, she heads to the office._ I love it when a plan comes together!_

Sitting in journalism class, Logan wonders if there's any truth to the rumor that you can actually die from blue balls. He raises his hand to try and get his teacher's attention. "Oh, excuse me, Mrs Murphy?"

He waits for the teacher to acknowledge him before asking, "Hey, do you mind if I take a bathroom break?"

Mrs Murphy glares at him in exasperation. "You always ask to go to the bathroom during this period."

He smiles sheepishly. "I know. It's that twelve-pack I slam at lunch, it goes right through me." _Or it could be the thought of Veronica Mars going commando._ Logan grins at the teacher as he waits for her to confirm he can go. He waits for the "Hurry back, Logan" before he leaves the room.

* * *

Logan looks around the bathroom briefly before walking into a stall and locking the door. He unzips his pants and groans in relief as he springs free of his pant's confinement. Leaning against the wall, he closes his eyes, the picture of Veronica's short skirt and beautiful legs imprinted on his mind as he slowly strokes himself. He pictures himself straddling the lunch bench and pulling Veronica onto his lap so that he could wedge his hands under her short skirt and see for himself if she really was going commando today. A flush infuses his face and his hand starts to stroke himself faster as he imagines sinking his fingers inside of Veronica's body and watching her face as he brings her to orgasm. He groans again in pleasure as he feels his orgasm race through him, the thought of Veronica orgasming with him inside her in anyway, enough to send him over the edge. Resting his head against the wall, he takes a deep breath, cleans himself off and flushes the toilet before leaving the stall.

He walks to the sink and washes his hands before reaching for the paper towels against the wall. He looks in the mirror and finishes drying his hands just as the door slams open, allowing a pissed off Weevil to enter. Watching as Weevil jams a door stopper under the door, Logan throws away the paper towel. "I hope that tape didn't burn too much when they ripped it off. I heard that can leave some chaffing." Mock concern coats Logan's voice as he quirks an eyebrow at his nemesis.

Weevil stares at Logan in the mirror before saying angrily, "You made the wrong play, dawg! I shouldn't let you live for what you pulled!" He watches as Logan spins around to face him in astonishment.

"What I pulled? Hang on, compadre. Let's recap! You blasted a shotgun through my car with me inside," he states, ignoring Weevil's protest. "You torched my house, then your masked banditos played Russian roulette with my hand! 'K, my math says you still owe me!" Logan retorts.

Weevil yells at him in frustration. "I thought you killed Felix!"

Logan shrugs. "I didn't."

Pausing for a minute, Weevil nods in acknowledgement. "Yeah, I pretty much know that now."

Logan throws his hands up in the air as the silence stretches. "Ohh, are you waiting for the music to swell before you start the apology?" he asks sarcastically.

Weevil looks at him steadily. "We have something in common now. We both need to find out who killed Felix."

Logan looks back at Weevil in disbelief. "So what? We team up? Get matching capes? I ride shotgun in a sidecar?" he retorts.

A resolute expression settles on Weevil's face. "Something like that, but not yet," he replies as he looks intently at Logan. "You see, I can't let you leave here lookin' the way you did when you walked in. Not if I don't want to end up some bald guy with tattoos who rides the school bus," he shrugs.

Logan smirks at the thought of Weevil riding the school bus. "Well, I hope you don't expect me to stand to just stand here and take it?" he asks sarcastically. He watches as Weevil grins back in response.

"Wouldn't be much fun if you did!" Clenching his fists, Weevil smiles in pleasure.

Eyeing Weevil steadily, Logan flexes his hands. "All right, so who's gonna throw the first-".

Glancing up at the sound of the school bell, Logan feels pain radiate through his jaw as his adversary throws the first punch. He shakes it off as Weevil taunts, "You can thank Veronica for the first one since I assume you're the reason she tasered me this morning." Logan smirks before punching the other man in the stomach. "I knew there was a reason I loved that girl!" He stumbles towards the wall as Weevil throws another punch at him.

"You need to tell your girl to back off and leave my boys alone," Weevil states as he holds Logan against the wall, punching him again.

Logan grabs the trash can lid and smashes it into Weevil. "She's not my girl, tell her yourself!" he gasps out as Weevil slams him into another wall.

Weevil punches Logan again before retorting, "Didn't you get the memo? She's a little pissed at me right now!"

Dragging Weevil to the floor, Logan is unable to avoid Weevil grabbing him in a bear hug, preventing him from punching him in the gut again. He manages to get in another punch before the door bursts open, allowing a security guard and Van Clemmons pull them apart. He wipes the blood off his mouth and swears under his breath as he heads for inevitable detention and possible suspension.


	3. Chapter 3

Author: Rowanlove  
Pairing / Character: Logan, Veronica, Duncan, hints of V/D, Veronica/Logan UST ,Hannah  
Rating: PG-13 overall, although part III is NC-17  
Word Count: 4,357  
x-posted to **veronicamarsfic** and **vmfanficutopia**  
Summary: AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that normal isn't everything it's cracked up to be…  
Spoilers / Warnings: Through "Ahoy Mateys" (2x08) and spoilers up to 2x15 "The Quick and the Wed"

Click here for Cracking the Shell - Part I

Click here for Cracking the Shell - Part II & Part III

Part IV

Glancing around the corridor, Veronica quickly motions for Duncan to enter Meg's room. 'Come on, coast is clear!" Duncan walks to the edge of Meg's bed and reaches for her hand as Veronica finds a chair in the corner of the room and sits down. "It sounds like the Mannings will be gone for a few hours, so we'll just need to watch for the nurses." She shifts in her chair restlessly, feeling like an intruder as she watches her ex-boyfriend lovingly hold Meg's hand. _I need to borrow 'Third Wheel: A Beginner's Guide, from Logan,_ she thinks ruefully as the silence grows uncomfortable.

"Hey, thanks for getting me in to see Meg so quickly." He smiles at Veronica, oblivious to the awkward expression on her face.

"What are friends for? Now, if you need me to prove you didn't commit murder that may take me longer," she deadpans.

Duncan chuckles. "No. Just illegal hospital entry for me. Thanks." He steps closer to the bed and smiles happily as Meg's eyes flutter open.

Meg looks up as she slowly sees Duncan take shape in front of her.

"Hi' he says softly, as Meg's eyes gaze back at him before scanning the room and seeing Veronica.

Meg smiles at both of them and returns the greeting.

Veronica gets up from her chair and walks forward uncertainly. "How are you feeling, Meg? Lizzie told us you had finally woken up."

Laughing softly, Meg shrugs. "Well, I've been better." She glances at Duncan. "Could you give us a minute? I need to talk to Veronica alone"

Duncan looks at her in confusion, before nodding. "Sure, I'll be right outside."

A minute passes as Meg makes sure her ex-boyfriend is no where in the vicinity. "Veronica, I hope you forgive me for being such a b-". She stops talking as Veronica reaches the bed and squeezes her shoulder.

"Hey, you don't have to say anything."

Meg shakes her head and shrugs helplessly. "I do though. I wanted us still to be friends when I was dating Duncan, but when he broke up with me and started dating you again; I was a bitch to you."

"Meg, believe me, I pretty much have the market cornered on being a bitch, so I wouldn't worry about it." Veronica covers Meg's hand and smiles at her. "So does this mean you want us to be friends again?" she asks.

"I'd like that. I don't really have too many girl friends, other than my sisters." Meg admits.

"Well, my friend…to give you the latest scoop on what happened while you were sleeping…Duncan and I broke up."

Meg looks at the other girl in incomprehension. "You did? Why?"

"We don't belong together anymore. It just took us a while to figure out we're different people now," Veronica says honestly. "Ohh and I'm pretty sure my ex-boyfriend is actually in love with his blonde, cheerleader of an ex-girlfriend," she teases.

"What makes you say that?" Meg asks, her expression a strange cross between slightly uncomfortable and hopeful.

Veronica squeezes Meg's hand in reassurance and smiles. "Well, apparently you're the girl of Duncan's dreams. Not to mention, he's been visiting you every day since the accident and he read all your emails. Sounds like more than just a friend to me." Noting the anxious expression on Meg's face, Veronica pats her hand again.

"There's something I need to tell you, Veronica. I need your help." Meg grips her friend's hand urgently.

Anticipating the source of Meg's anxiousness, Veronica rushes to comfort her. "We know about Grace, Meg. We'll help in any way we can."

Meg looks at her, surprise and relief racing across her face. "How did you know?"

"Duncan read your emails. We also found the book and Grace in the closet. Your parents saw us though and called the police. I don't think we're their favorite people," Veronica announces deprecatingly.

Meg looks at the open doorway wistfully.

"Let me tell Duncan to come in, I think you guys need to talk. We'll figure out what to do about Grace after you've had a chance to rest." She comes to a halt as she feels Meg grab her arm.

"Veronica, are you sure?" Meg asks hesitantly.

_Sure that Duncan and I don't belong together? Sure that you do? Sure we'll figure out how to help Grace?_

"I'm sure," Veronica responds reassuringly as she squeezes Meg's hand and goes to find Duncan.

Entering the room, Duncan walks over to the bed and looks at Meg uncertainly. "Veronica said that you asked for me."

Veronica gives them both a quick wave before she slips out of the room, her heart lighter than it had been in weeks.

Keith watches as Logan Echolls's pauses in the doorway of the interrogation room and confides, "I adore what your designer's done with the men's room! That Hefty bag over the busted urinal adds a delicious wabi-sabi feel." _Yep. The boy definitely has some of his family's acting blood in his veins. I wonder if he has a smart ass comment for every occasion? _Keith gestures for Logan to shut the door before he responds, "It's Don's thing. We went more mid-century modern back in my day." He grins at Logan before getting serious. "Thanks for coming by. I'm guessing by your blithe spirits that you have no idea what's up?" Keith asks.

"No, but they request my presence here weekly, so..." He responds warily.

Keith braces himself to ruin someone else's day. "Logan, the tapes of your Dad and Lilly have been stolen from the evidence room. I'm here to investigate how it happened and to try and get them back." He watches a shell-shocked look cross Logan's face as the teenager tries to process what that could mean. Keith pauses for a moment before he continues, "Obviously, I need to know what, I mean, if anything, your father might have said lately about the case or the evidence."

"Wait...Now I'm totally confused. That sounded a lot like a question you would ask a suspect. An accomplice, say…" Logan asks angrily.

Keith ignores the twinge of guilt he feels for pressing forward with his questions when it was obvious that Logan had no inkling the tapes were missing. _Just part of the job. _"You did spend time with Aaron right before the tapes were stolen," Keith states in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Excuse me, Keith, Lloyd Blankenship of "The Dispatch" is on the phone." Inga interrupts.

"Thanks, Inga. I'll be right back, excuse me." Keith says to Logan as he leaves the room.

Sprawling along the bench, Logan covers his face with his arm as he thinks about the missing tapes. He glances over as the door opens and a deputy places a binder on the table before leaving the room. Glancing back to the door quickly, he sits up and steps over to the table before looking through the folder and removing a list of email addresses from the front flap. He slips the piece of paper in his pocket before lying back down again.

"Sorry about the interruption," Keith apologizes as he enters the room. "Now, I asked whether you heard anything unusual from your father. Did he ever mention the tapes when you were locked up with him?" he asks Logan.

An angry expression crosses Logan's face as he retorts, "Can you seriously imagine me conspiring to save Daddy dearest?? Lilly's killer?"

Keith watches as temper clouds Logan's face and the boy's fists clench in front of him. "I'm just making sure I have every pertinent bit of information." Keith says calmly.

"Tell you what, dude; If I hear anything pertinent, I'll get back to you." Logan shoves his chair backwards to stand up.

Keith looks at the boy steadily "The name's not 'Dude'. It's Mr. Mars." Keith corrects firmly. He watches as Logan raises his hand in a brief salute before leaving the room.

As she walks in the door, Veronica drops her bag on the floor before reaching into the fridge to grab a drink.

Keith looks over at her to ask curiously, "Where have you been?"

"Meg finally woke up. Duncan and I went to visit her," she responds. She glances over at the counter, eyeing the paperwork in her Dad's hand. "Tax reports? Did you change careers without telling me?" Veronica asks as she puts her bottle of water back in the fridge. "You know, "my Dad, the accountant' is seriously less cool", she mentions conspiratorially. She blinks in surprise at the lack of witty rejoinder before turning to look at her father with concern.

"Veronica, what can you tell me about Deputy Leo and his family?" Keith asks. He shuffles the papers in his hand, the weary expression on his face conveying the seriousness of the question.

Veronica slides into a booth at Luigi's across from her ex-boyfriend. "Are we here because this is neutral territory or did you just think I'd be less pissed off if my stomach was full?"

"A little of both maybe?" Leo responds hopefully. "I ordered you the manicotti."

Looking at Leo in disgust, Veronica starts to rise from the table. "This isn't a date, Leo."

"Veronica, wait, please…I just want the chance to explain." He grabs hold of her wrist, trying to stop her from leaving.

She waits for him to release her wrist before taking a seat again. "Explain? Do you really think an explanation will help? You _stole_ those tapes so you could sell them for a profit!" Veronica glares angrily at former boyfriend, almost wishing she had taken her taser out of the car, so she could at least maim him and make herself feel better. _Even if Lilly was just another girl screwing a movie star to him, he said he cared about me. _

"I almost died for those tapes, Leo. My best friend _did_ die for them. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Veronica asks angrily.

He leans forward in his seat urgently before saying, "Veronica, it does mean something! I was planning on giving those tapes back when I got that email from Logan Echolls offering to buy the tapes…"

Veronica shakes her head at him, before retorting, "Don't blame this on him...my Dad already told me Logan destroyed the tapes." She pauses to collect herself before trying to continue calmly, "Yes, what Logan did was stupid and irresponsible, but at least he did it to try to protect Lilly from being exploited, because he loved her. You were the one trying to take advantage of her, like she was just this nameless, faceless slut that slept with Aaron Echolls!" Veronica states furiously. Standing up again, she looks at Leo one last time.

"This was pointless. I should go. Goodbye, Leo." Walking out of the restaurant, she wipes the angry tears from her eyes before getting into her car.

_What was I saying last week about my heart being lighter?_ _Maybe the Fates really are against me?_ Veronica ponders as she walks down the hallway towards her locker. _Sure, Meg is getting better every day and is going to be released tomorrow, but between the tapes being destroyed and only seeing Wallace for one night before he left again, Winter Break pretty much sucked. _ Veronica slams the door of her locker and turns to head to class when she notices the "Out of Order" sign on the bathroom door. Sighing, she takes a deep breath before pushing the bathroom door open to deal with Logan Echolls.

A stunned expression crosses Veronica's face and her jaw drops slightly at the scene in front of her. She roots around in her messenger bag for her day planner before flipping to the correct page. "I was right!" Veronica announces triumphantly as she looks at Logan and Weevil. "No one had told me Hell had frozen over…See? It's not in my day planner." She turns the planner towards them, pointing to the open page.

"Very funny, Mars!" Weevil retorts, "We need your help."

Veronica glances between Logan sitting comfortably on the bathroom counter and Weevil standing uncomfortably in front of her. "We? Are you and Logan dating now or did you exchange friendship bracelets?" She holds up her bare wrist and looks at Logan and Weevil sadly. "I never got mine."

Logan rolls his eyes, "As amusing as this banter is, Mars…Weevs here is now aware that I didn't kill Felix and wants to help us with our little project of finding Felix's killer."

Veronica looks at Weevil to verify before nodding and looking serious for a moment. "That will help us piece together what happened that night since Weevil can get more information from the rest of the PCHers, but this is probably not the best place to continue meeting." She looks around the girls' bathroom before smirking at them both. "Unless we can get people to believe we suddenly wanted a ménage a trois, I think it would be pretty obvious what we're doing." Veronica finishes mockingly.

Weevil looks at her with interest, as his eyes linger over her body. "Well…" he responds, an intent gleam in his eye.

"In your dreams, Navarro!" Logan interjects before jumping off the bathroom counter and moving to stand between them.

Weevil glances at him before taunting, "Hey, didn't she dump you?"

Glaring slightly, Logan pauses before responding, 'Yeah, well, Paco…since her boyfriend isn't here to defend her virtue from your dirty mind, I'm substituting…"

Weevil smirks at the angry expression on Logan's face. "Yeah, I bet you'd like to substitute for Duncan."

Rolling her eyes, she steps between them quickly before the first punch can be thrown. 'Boys, while this bathroom probably hasn't seen a good fight in a few weeks, this isn't helping us find Felix's killer. Besides, don't you both already have detention all week?" She questions. Veronica waits until the battle readiness leaves Logan's body and he nods in response.

"Yeah, that one was Paco's idea. For some reason, he didn't want to ride the school bus every day." Logan responds sarcastically.

Weevil looks at Logan before retorting, "Hey, at least we didn't get suspended! I think Clemmons is getting soft."

Veronica pauses to consider. "I could get you both out of detention, but that's probably the least conspicuous place for all of us to meet regularly."

A look of confusion crosses Weevil's face. "You have detention too?"

"No" Veronica responds as a wicked glint sparks in her eyes. "But I have a plan." Checking the door to make sure the coast is clear, she motions for Logan to leave.

"Uh uh…I'm not leaving you alone in here with Navarro," he responds as he crosses his arms and moves to lean back against the counter.

Rolling her eyes, she looks out the door again and motions to the other boy. 'Okay, then your turn, Eli, its all clear still."

Weevil glances back, before smirking from the doorway and pointing to Logan. "I'm leaving you alone in here with him, but only because I hear it's not the first time that's happened and you liked it before."

Veronica shoves the bathroom door closed, hoping to hit Weevil in the back of his smug head if possible. She turns around to face Logan before asking the question that had been brewing in her mind for days since she had found out about the tapes. "So…if there were sex tapes with me starring in them, would you buy them and destroy them before they made their way to the internet?"

Logan's eyes widen, surprise written across his face. Gathering his scattered thoughts, he nods affirmatively. He shoves his hands in his pockets, a smirk twitching across his lips, unable to resist admitting softly, "If they were sex tapes of you and me though, I'd keep a copy for myself."

Blushing faintly, Veronica places her hand on the door handle, preparing to leave. "Okay."

"Okay?" Logan asks incredulously. "That's it? You're not going to accuse me of being in league with my father and destroying the tapes to help him? Your Dad thought so." He states bitterly.

Shaking her head, Veronica grabs his arm comfortingly. "He didn't think you did, Logan. It was just his job to ask. He doesn't believe you'd want to help Lilly's killer," she reassures him.

Logan stares at her again and asks in wary disbelief. "So you're not even going tell me it was a stupid thing to do? Or that I shouldn't be keeping a hypothetical tape of us having sex when you're dating Duncan?"

Ignoring his secondary question, she smirks. "Ohh, there's no question that it was a stupid thing to do, Logan, but at least you did it for the right reasons. Aaron's lawyers wouldn't have let those tapes be re-admitted to evidence after the chain of custody was broken anyway."

Veronica turns as the bell rings and winks at Logan. "Time to get that detention!" She pauses as Logan walks over to stand behind her near the bathroom door.

"Ohh and one more thing? Duncan and I broke up; he's dating Meg now."

Grabbing Logan, she shoves him out the bathroom door before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him senseless. She watches the dumbfounded look disappear from his face to be replaced with passion when a voice behind her suddenly ends the moment, allowing her to hear the catcalls and whistles in the hallway.

"Mr. Echolls, Ms Mars, my office. Now."

Winking at Logan, she gestures for him to follow Principal Clemmons to the office first. "I think we just got detention…" she smirks.

He grabs her arm and puts his lips to her ear, "Hey, were you going to do that with Weevil? You wanted me to leave first!" he asks in a furious whisper.

Veronica rolls her eyes and whispers back, "That was improvisation! I was going to pull the fire alarm!" Veronica starts walking again, a smile gracing her lips as she heads towards the office.

Principal Clemmons gestures to the two chairs in front of his desk, "Mr. Echolls, Ms. Mars. Have a seat." He takes a seat behind his desk before taking a look at the two of them. "I trust I don't need to inform you of the school's by-laws regarding public decency in our hallways?" He waits for them to both shake their heads.

Veronica watches as Mr. Clemmons gaze swings to Logan first.

"Mr. Echolls, from what I understand, you already have detention with us this week, correct?"

"Yes, sir." He acknowledges.

"Very well, Mr. Echolls, that should still suffice, you may leave while I discuss Ms Mars's punishment with her."

Veronica waves to Logan as he leaves the room before turning her attention to Mr. Clemmons.

"Ms. Mars, despite the…favors you have done for this administration in the past, I'm afraid I can't let you go without detention."

Nodding solemnly, she ponders out loud. "I understand, _Principal_ Clemmons, but you know, I'm not sure if I'd learn proper respect for the school's by-laws with only one day's detention."

"Ms. Mars, I don't think you'd learn proper respect for this school's by-laws with a month's detention!" Mr. Clemmons retorts in exasperation.

Veronica looks the principal in the eye before confiding, "I'm thinking that I could learn that respect in a week."

"All right, what are you up to, Ms Mars?" He asks suspiciously.

Veronica opens her eyes widely before responding, "Why nothing, I merely want the proper amount of time to ponder the error of my ways. Is that so wrong??" she asks plaintively. Veronica waits for Principal Clemmons to stop trying to outwait her.

"A week's detention it is, Ms. Mars. Try not to cause any other problems in the meantime, hmm?" he finally says.

Veronica winks at him before jumping out of her chair. "You say that like trouble follows me, Mr. Clemmons!" She waves quickly, leaving the room before he can respond.

"Hey Veronica."

She looks up in surprise to see Casey Gant standing at her lunch table.

"Mind if I sit down?" he asks politely.

"Sure, Casey, although this is kind of a surprise!" Veronica says as she smiles at Casey and watches him shrug in embarrassment.

"I heard about you and Duncan breaking up and Duncan getting back together with Meg. I thought you could use a friend."

A startled expression crosses her face, followed by a flash of understanding. "Okay, well now I understand why Enbom and Sean said hello to me in the hallway earlier!" Veronica rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, I think they're hoping you'd like a little 'comfort'" Casey smirks.

"I'd be too worried about finding a knife in my back to let any of those guys 'comfort' me!" Veronica responds sarcastically.

Veronica smiles at him. "Thanks for checking up on me, Casey. I appreciate it, but I'm fine."

Opening his carton of Chinese food, he looks curiously at Veronica. "So you're okay with Duncan and Meg dating?"

"Well, they make more sense than me and Duncan together…besides I love Duncan and I love Meg, so yeah, I'm happy for them," she acknowledges with a shrug.

"Does that mean you and Logan are getting back together?"

"I guess it's true what they say…Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Veronica replies, wondering what prompted the question.

"Well, their number one weapon was surprise. Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy. I just saw you guys in the hallway…you know before Mr. Clemmons called you both into his office." Casey replies with a grin and pulls at his collar like it suddenly got hotter outside.

Realization dawns on her face and Veronica blushes slightly. "Logan and I aren't dating. I guess you could call that kiss a mental aberration." Still blushing, she glances down to pick at her food.

"You know, I didn't come over here to offer you comfort sex, but if Logan jumps me in the parking lot later, you may need to offer it to me." Casey mentions, causing Veronica to suddenly look at him, a startled expression on her face.

"What are you talking about, Casey?" She asks in confusion. "Logan isn't going to jump you in the parking lot, what gives you that impression?"

"I guess Logan doesn't like the fact that I'm having lunch with you." Casey mocks as he looks over at Logan to acknowledge the glare that he felt burning through his chest.

Veronica turns her head to look at Logan and watches him glance away from Casey. "Logan is dating Kendall Casablancas, Casey; I don't think he's going to jump you in the parking lot just for sitting with me, but if he does, I'll give you that comfort sex." Veronica promises mockingly.

Casey laughs in response. "Okay. I'm warning you though, I'll hold you to that promise if he kicks my ass for trying to be your friend!"

Throwing his books onto the floor, Logan kicks one of the desks before checking his phone for the time and sitting down. He watches as Weevil walks into the room and chooses a desk a few rows over.

"Where's Veronica?" Weevil asks Logan curiously. "I thought she managed to get detention as well?"

Logan glares darkly at the empty doorway and checks the time on his phone again. "She's probably too busy making out with Casey Gant now that she's not dating Duncan anymore."

Weevil looks at Logan steadily before saying, 'She's not like Lilly…maybe Duncan broke her heart. You should kick his ass for taking advantage of her."

"Kick whose ass?" Veronica asks suspiciously as she walks into the room and hears the end of the conversation.

Logan glares at Veronica. "Well, I must say I'm surprised, Mars. Barely single and already promising other guys sex?"

Veronica looks at him in confusion before the light bulb goes off. "Did you talk to Casey? You didn't try to kick his ass, did you?" she asks worriedly.

"I didn't lay a hand on him, so if he shows up tomorrow with bruises, it wasn't me. I believe the offer was only if I kicked his ass, right?" Logan asks as he continues to glare at her. "Ohh and Dick and Beaver were with me and you know Beaver can't lie to you, so I have witnesses," he adds mockingly.

"Why were you even talking to Casey? It's not like he's one of your surfing buddies." Veronica asks indignantly.

Logan shrugs.

"Can we maybe get around to discussing Felix's murder so I don't have to witness any more of your pathetic mating rituals?" Weevil asks sarcastically.

Dropping her messenger bag on the ground, she takes a seat. "Van the man will probably- Hi Mr. Clemmons."

"Veronica" Mr. Clemmons acknowledges. "Surprisingly enough, it looks like it's just you three for detention today. I'll be back to check on you later. Try not to kill each other please." He asks as he looks at the two boys and watches them smirk in response.

Veronica waits for Mr. Clemmons to leave the room before she turns to Weevil to ask, "Eli, who were the last people on the bridge that night before the 911 caller showed up?"

Weevil contemplates for a minute before he shrugs and answers, "According to Thumper, Hector and Bootsie were last ones on the bridge with Pretty Boy and Felix, but Sully was supposed to go to the Texaco to pick up Cervando and take my bike home."

Veronica interjects, "All right, let's focus on what we know here. We know Bootsie and Hector should have seen the 911 caller along with possibly Sully and Cervando. Based on Logan's memory and what we've found out about Dr Griffith, Dr Griffith is a Fitzpatrick pawn who was no where near the Coronado Bridge that night and is being paid, bribed or blackmailed into testifying against Logan."

"So where does that leave us?" Logan asks.

"Well, we need to figure out what Hector and Bootsie know and how the Fitzpatricks are involved." Veronica thinks for a minute. "We can bug Hector and Bootsie, but I don't think we want to get close enough to the Fitzpatricks again to plant a bug, so we'll have to check out Dr Griffith."

"What do you want me to do?" Weevil asks.

"I'll give you some bugs to plant on Hector and Bootsie, but I'll need to think about how we can get to Dr Griffith. I'll come find you tomorrow." Veronica responds.

Logan looks at his ex-girlfriend steadily. "What about me?"

"How about you try not to get yourself kidnapped or beaten up this week?"

"That wasn't my fault," Logan responds indignantly. "I didn't do anything!"

"Ms. Mars, Mr. Navarro, Mr. Echolls…detention's over" Mr. Clemmons announces as he walks back into the room.

Veronica looks over at Logan's furious expression. _At least he's too pissed off to ask to help with Dr Griffith. Maybe I won't have to worry about him getting killed this week._

"Well, it's been a blast! See you tomorrow!" Veronica waves mockingly as she leaves the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Author: Rowanceleste  
Pairing / Character: Logan, Veronica, Duncan, hints of V/D, Veronica/Logan UST  
Rating: PG-13 overall  
Word Count: 3, 686  
Summary: AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that normal isn't everything it's cracked up to be…  
Spoilers / Warnings: Through "Ahoy Mateys" (2x08) and possible spoilers up to 2x15 "The Quick and the Wed"

Part V

"Are you sure this is what you want to do? Because you can't pretend it didn't happen if you change your mind" Veronica asks.

"This is what I need to do, Veronica. I can't let Grace go to a foster home while my Aunt Chris is in a custody battle with my parents, not when Grace could be with me instead." Meg responds determinedly.

"You know you'll miss the rest of senior year, plus that little issue about being wanted the police if you take Grace with you." Veronica warns.

"When I contacted Child Protective Services, I did it because I knew I couldn't stick my head in the sand anymore, not when they were doing that to my sister. I know what I'm doing and I swear I won't blame you for any help you provide. You don't have to keep trying to talk me out of it." Meg reassures her. She looks over at Duncan and tells Veronica, "I told Duncan he doesn't need to come with us and that I can do this on my own, but he won't listen to me."

"I want to help you and Grace, Meg…there's nothing you can say that will convince me not to go with you" Duncan responds with the same determination.

"It will be easier for you to hide as a couple with a child than as a woman with a child, but you'll miss the rest of senior year as well, Duncan. Plus there's also that whole police thing as well." Veronica tells him honestly.

Duncan nods in acknowledgement before suddenly breaking into a grin as a thought occurs to him. "It's really going to piss off Celeste when you win the Kane scholarship and she has to pay for your college tuition!"

Veronica smirks. "I would have still won, Duncan, you don't have to leave town to make it easier for me to win the scholarship!" She looks at her watch as her alarm goes off, before saying, "We need to finish up, your parents will be back soon and needless to say, Duncan and I need to be gone by then!"

"Okay, if you're both still positive that this is what you need to do to help Grace, I've got three passports for you. It will take me a few days to doctor them and make other plans. Everything should be in place by this Friday." Veronica looks at the resolute expressions on Meg's and Duncan's and feels some of the tension drain from her. _Grace will be better off with Meg until her Aunt wins the custody battle and its better for the case if her Aunt's not involved._

"I asked Lizzie if she wanted to go with me if I left town" Meg volunteers hesitantly. She watches the alarm cross Veronica's face before saying hurriedly, "Don't worry! I didn't tell her anything about Grace. I know the less she knows, the better it is for her but I didn't want to leave her if she wanted to go with me. I didn't even tell her Duncan was going." Meg squeezes Duncan's hand for comfort. "She doesn't want to leave, so I guess I won't be seeing her for a while. I suppose the same thing would happen when I left for college, only Grace will be with me now."

"You're sure she doesn't know anything, right? If we want this to work, no one else can know about it." Veronica waits until they both nod in agreement before she breathes a sigh of relief. She laughs a little before responding, "Sorry for worrying so much…it's not like you're both amateurs. Duncan snuck out of the country successfully before!" Veronica looks at Duncan and grins at the proud expression that crosses his face. "Hey, I'm the one that found you, but if I can find you successfully, then I can hide the three of you successfully" she smirks.

"Is there anything I need to do?" Duncan asks.

_Hmm. The guys in her life all sure wanted to be helpful today. Weevil, Logan and Duncan? Maybe Hell really did freeze over earlier?_ "We'll need you to front some cash, sugar daddy. You'll need a reliable car, not like that piece of junk you left in Mexico." Veronica smirks.

"Hey, that car was a classic!" Duncan quips.

"I don't think they consider them classics when they reach the 'rust bucket' stage" Veronica retorts dryly. "Ohhh and I think it's best if you go to school the rest of the week, Duncan. I think everyone will understand if you take tomorrow off since its Meg's first day out of the hospital, but we need your routine to be as normal as possible if we don't want to draw anyone's suspicion."

"I should probably go to school tomorrow anyway. It's not like the Manning's are going to let me fluff Meg's pillow" Duncan responds as he squeezes Meg's hand again..

"Meg, are you getting the impression that your parents don't like us?" Veronica teases.

Meg grins at them as she tries not to dwell on going home tomorrow. "Gee, Veronica, it's almost like you guys broke into their house and accused them of child abuse!" She holds back her tears as Veronica gives her a hug and then Duncan hugs her and kisses her.

"Lizzie will be staying home with you tomorrow, right?" Duncan asks.

Meg nods and smiles at the thought. "Yeah, Lizzie is staying home with me all week since I'm not supposed to start school until Monday. At least I'll get to spend the rest of the week with her." "I'll try to pack the inconspicuous stuff early. It's not like my parents will search my room when I'll be in there all the time." Meg responds as grimaces.

"Okay. Friday after school is the planned departure then" Veronica confirms. She glances down as her alarm beeps again. "We should go. I'll be in touch!" Veronica reassures Meg before checking the hallway and turning back to grin at Meg. "At least it's easier to sneak into your house than it is this hospital!" She waves goodbye as Meg grins back at her before she follows Duncan into the hallway.

"I'll need three of those bug thingies, not just two" Weevil states from Veronica's passenger seat.

"Three?" Veronica asks suspiciously. "You're just supposed to bug Hector and Bootsie. You and Logan better not be playing any spy games on your own!" she accuses.

Weevil rolls his eyes. "The third one is just a precaution. Just give it up, Blondie!" Weevil retorts as he holds out hand for the bugs.

Veronica looks around at the nearly empty parking lot to confirm no one else was near by. "I only have these two set up; the third one will be pretty obvious if someone finds it. I put Hector and Bootsie's bugs in lighters since I wasn't sure if they actually carried pens to school." Veronica mocks as she hands the bugs to Weevil.

"You know, contrary to popular opinion, we do actually attend some classes!" Weevil retorts sarcastically.

"Really? I didn't know lunch counted as a class!" Veronica quips.

"Haven't I told you that you really should be nicer to me?" Weevil retorts as he gets out of the car and slams the door.

"I'm not Lilly; you'll have to find someone else to lay your pipe, Weevil." Veronica mocks as she grabs her messenger bag, before getting out of her car.

Weevil smirks in response as he heads towards the school.

"Did you get it?"

"Yeah, but your girl's like a freaking bloodhound! She was asking why I wanted the third bug." Weevil complains as he drops the bug into Logan's hand.

"I told you. She's not my girl. Just remember though, she's not yours either." Logan warns as he slips the bug into his pocket and closes his locker.

"Funny, but she was talking about laying my pipe when we were in the car." Weevil taunts. He grins to himself as he feels Logan's glare against the back of his neck as he walks down the hallway.

Veronica glances up from her lunch and smiles at Casey. "Still in one piece I see?" she teases as he sits down across from her.

Casey snickers softly. "Well, it was close! He was about to kick my ass before I told him you promised to have sex with me if he did." Casey eyes Veronica mischievously. "Maybe I shouldn't have told him about your promise!"

Veronica rolls her eyes. "Sorry, Casey. I don't know what his problem is…if I told him that I wanted to date him again, he'd ask me if that was the punch line to the joke, so I don't know why he threatened you!" she confesses in frustration.

Casey shrugs good-naturedly. "Well, if you say he doesn't want to date you and that's true, then my guess would be that it's not because he doesn't have feelings for you." He glances over at Logan's table before smirking again. "Could you also amend that promise to include Logan's minions as well?"

"Damn it!" Veronica grabs her cell phone from her bag and hits her second speed dial option. "Why the hell is Dick glaring at Casey??"

"You're calling me from four tables away?" Logan asks as he leans back against his table to switch his gaze to Veronica.

"You need to call off your toadies! They better not lay a finger on Casey!" Veronica threatens as she turns to glare at Logan.

Logan waggles his fingers and smirks back at Veronica. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mars. I don't control Dick. Maybe Casey took his parking spot?" Logan asks mockingly.

"I amended my promise to Casey. If you or any of your toadies kick his ass, then I told him I'd have sex with him." Veronica retorts before she snaps her phone shut and turns back around to face Casey.

Logan stares at the now silent phone and wonders if he can strangle Veronica from a distance. _She wouldn't actually sleep with Casey just because he got his ass kicked?_ He contemplates the thought before he turns to look at Dick. "Leave Casey alone."

Dick stops glaring at Casey to look at Logan in confusion. "I thought you wanted me to kick his ass?"

Logan shakes his head. "I don't want anyone to kick Casey's ass. In fact, if you see anyone we know attempting to kick his ass, I want you to kick _their _ass, okay?" He watches as Dick continues to look at him in confusion before shrugging.

"Sure man, whatever." Dick responds obligingly.

Veronica glances back at Casey. 'Sorry about that, Casey."

"No big deal" He grins and then holds out his hand, "Want to shake on our new agreement?"

Laughing, Veronica shakes Casey's hand to seal their agreement. "Hopefully the world is now a safer place for you, Casey Gant!" Veronica mocks.

"Well, at least Dick stopped glaring at me. He was ruining my appetite." Casey smirks in response.

"Hey Veronica, you got a minute?" Mac asks hesitantly as she stops by the table and looks at Casey.

"I think that's my cue to leave. My 'girl talk' alarm just went off." Casey grins before quickly gathering the remains of his lunch and getting up.

Mac sits down across from Veronica, smiling in relief that Casey was gone.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Veronica asks Mac.

Mac blushes before looking at Veronica with an excited smile on her face. "Nothing's wrong. Cassidy invited me to go surfing with him on Friday. He said he'll teach me. They're going down the coast and staying over at one of their friend's summer place on Friday night before coming back on Saturday night. I guess they don't like to deal with the traffic on Sunday."

Veronica grins before teasing, "Wow, your first date with Cassidy is an overnight trip, huh?"

"Cassidy said it's a four bedroom place and it's just Logan, Dick and him that are going." Mac confesses as she blushes again. "He also said you're welcome to come as well!" she says hopefully.

Veronica smirks. "Why? So Dick can drown me? I'm pretty sure he doesn't want me to join you guys."

"Well, Logan probably wants you to come with us and you know Cassidy likes you." Mac offers slyly.

Veronica looks at Mac for minute. "I actually have plans this weekend, but could you do me a favor? If anyone asks, tell them that I went with you guys and I carpooled with you, okay?"

Mac looks at Veronica with faint disappointment, before she shrugs good naturedly. "Sure I don't mind, but I was kind of hoping you'd actually come with us." She grins conspiratorially at Veronica. "I already told my Mom you were going, so she wouldn't freak out about me going on an overnight trip alone with three boys. It works out for me that your story will match mine now."

"I would actually go if I could, Mac, but I can't. I'm sure you'll have a great time with Cassidy though!" Veronica responds with a teasing grin.

Mac nods in excitement and then glances around as she hears the faint rumbling of whispers start at the entrance to the quad. "I didn't think Duncan would be at school today. I heard Meg was released." She watches protectively as Duncan heads towards them. _He better not say anything to Veronica!_

Duncan looks at Mac and Veronica. "Mind if I sit here?" he asks as he sits down.

Veronica smirks at Duncan as Mac looks at her in confusion. "Well, it doesn't look like you're actually asking, are you?" She grins at Duncan as the whispers around them get louder. "I think everyone was expecting you to shun me or something."

Duncan shrugs and mentions, "Or for you to throw things at me like some crazed fishwife?" he smirks.

Veronica chuckles. "Well, you are late. Did you skip the first half of your classes or something?" she asks reproachfully.

"I wanted to wait until Meg got checked out of the hospital. Not that the Mannings actually let me near her room or anything" Duncan responds sardonically.

Veronica squeezes Duncan's hand in comfort.

"So I take it that you guys are friends?" Mac finally says as she watches their interaction. Veronica and Duncan both smile at her.

"Yeah, I just couldn't date him anymore…I was getting sick of the argyle." Veronica deadpans.

"Hey!" Duncan protests, looking at his argyle sweater as Veronica and Mac burst into giggles.

Veronica tosses her messenger bag into the empty seat next to her before glancing at Weevil and pointedly ignoring Logan. "Did you get the bugs planted on Bootsie and Hector?"

"Hi Veronica, how was your day?" Logan asks sarcastically.

"Yeah, I slipped the lighters into their jackets, they didn't even notice." Weevil smirks as he also ignores Logan.

Mr. Clemmons enters the room and looks around to notice Veronica, Weevil and Logan in the back row. He walks over to them suspiciously. "Ms. Mars, Mr. Navarro and Mr. Echolls…I didn't expect you three to be sitting next to each other again."

Veronica leans forward and whispers confidentially to Mr. Clemmons, "Weevil and Logan were asking me what they should wear to the prom. They didn't want to look exactly the same because that's so 80's but they didn't want to clash with what each other was wearing either!"

Mr. Clemmons glances at Logan and Weevil with astonished fascination. "Are you-? Never mind, carry on. I'll be back to check on all of you later." He hurries out of the room, deciding it's sometimes ignorance is the better part of valor.

"Mars, I'm going to kill you!" Weevil retorts as he looks at Veronica.

"Hey, it got him out of the room quickly and he was getting suspicious!" Veronica responds innocently.

Weevil angrily looks at Logan slouching in his chair. "Don't you care, man? She just told the Principal we were gay!!"

Logan smirks. "Don't worry, Paco. You're not my type. Besides, at least if we went together, we'd both be bringing students. Veronica brought the police to last year's dance."

"Hey, jackass, at least I wouldn't be bringing my friend's step mom!" Veronica retorts angrily.

"Jealous?" Logan asks mockingly.

Weevil sighs as he watches Logan and Veronica continue bickering. "Do you guys even remember the purpose of getting detention together? You know…finding Felix's killer and keeping Pretty Boy here out of jail?"

Veronica glares at Logan again before removing her laptop from her messenger bag and powering it up. "Did you plant the third bug or just those first two?" she asks as she focuses on the business at hand.

"Just the first two, I haven't had a chance to plant the third one yet, I wanted to see what we'd find out with these ones first." Weevil responds as he glances at Logan from the corner of his eye.

She pulls up an application starts typing as two audio feeds come online in separate windows. She turns down the volume and angles her laptop so both Logan and Weevil can see. "They both have video surveillance as well but unless they're holding their lighters in their hand, we're not going to see anything. I couldn't think of an object that they'd walk around with to get video since I couldn't bug their watches and they don't seem like the type of guys to walk around with an Ipod." She smirks.

"It sounds like Hector's in a bar" Weevil comments as he tries to listen.

Veronica turns down the audio feed for Bootsie and increases the volume for Hector. "It definitely sounds like a bar, but I can't tell if it's the River Stix from the conversation yet."

Logan looks at Veronica as they hear a voice telling 'Uncle Liam' that he had a guest. "Bingo!" he responds in triumph.

Veronica nods in response. "That was Molly Fitzpatrick."

Weevil looks at Veronica before standing up and clenching his fists. "I'll take care of it from here."

"No!" Veronica grabs Weevil's arm before he can leave, noticing that Logan stood up as well. "We may have proved that Hector is in league with the Fitzpatricks, but that still doesn't prove he killed Felix. Beating it out of him is not going to work!" she tells both of them.

"Well, what's your plan then, Blondie?" Weevil asks in frustration.

Veronica waits for Logan and Weevil to sit back down and glares at them when they continue to stand, angry tension radiating from their bodies. "Will you please sit down?" she asks them, sighing in relief when they finally give in and sit back down.

"We need to figure out what the motive was for killing Felix, so we can figure out who benefited. It couldn't have been pre-mediated, at least not that night, since no one else knew you were going to be on the bridge. We need to figure out if someone just took advantage of the situation to kill Felix because he was in their way or if there was already a plan to kill Felix and they took the opportunity presented to frame Logan for it." Veronica states.

"Felix was my second in command, but why not kill me instead if they wanted control of the PCHers?" Weevil asks.

"They didn't have the opportunity to kill you since Felix had Thumper take you back home first. Now whoever wants control of the PCHers just needs to start undermining you and have everyone think you've gotten soft and shouldn't be in control anymore. This way they just had to kill Felix and discredit you instead of killing you and Felix." Veronica says as she looks at Weevil.

"Hector's been making these comments and I think he's got half the boys convinced I'm going soft and I shouldn't be in control anymore." Weevil admits.

"I take it that's why you burned down my house?" Logan asks sarcastically.

Weevil looks at Logan in guilt, not saying a word.

"I think we should concentrate on Hector. He's at least got a known tie in to the Fitzpatricks and we know the Fitzpatricks are trying to cover up the crime and blame it on Logan by bringing forward their own witness." Veronica interjects into the silence as Logan and Weevil turn to look at her. "Think you can handle a stakeout with me tomorrow, boys?" Veronica asks mockingly.

"Where's there to handle unless being in a car too long makes you horny?" Weevil retorts.

"Is that what happened at the end of our dates? Being in a car too long make you horny?" Logan asks her mockingly.

"Actually, jackass yellow is a turn-on for me; it had nothing to do with you!" Veronica retorts. _Okay. The sad thing is that it's true now._ _Not the part about it having nothing to do with Logan, but that just seeing his stupid truck turns me on now. _"Luckily, we'll be taking my car, so you boys won't have to worry about my little problem." Veronica replies sarcastically. She powers off her laptop as Mr. Clemmons enters the room.

"Okay, I'll see the three of you tomorrow. Detention's over." Mr. Clemmons announces as he looks at Veronica and tries not stare at Weevil and Logan.

"Mr. Clemmons? Please don't tell anyone about Logan and Weevil's little secret. They're embarrassed about it!" Veronica states before smirking and walking out of the room as she waves at Logan and Weevil. "See you tomorrow!"


	5. Chapter 5

Author: Rowanceleste  
Pairing / Character: Logan, Veronica, Duncan, hints of V/D, Veronica/Logan UST  
Word Count: 2, 885

Summary: AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that normal isn't everything it's cracked up to be…  
Spoilers / Warnings: Through "Ahoy Mateys" (2x08) and possible spoilers up to 2x15

Part VI

"Were you able to get a car?" Veronica asks as Duncan sits down next to her.

He puts his lunch on the table before nodding. "Yeah, it looks like it will blend in; at least once we leave Neptune." Duncan smirks.

"Good. I'll check the car out later. Just park it in my apartment complex and leave the keys in my glove box. I think I'm the only one of us that has actually looked under the hood of a car, so I should probably make sure it's reliable." Veronica mocks. She looks at Duncan as he's about to protest and raises her eyebrow sardonically.

"Okay, that's probably a good idea." Duncan confesses with a sheepish grin. He looks around as he sees Veronica look over his shoulder and smile. _Why's Casey heading over here?_ "Hey Casey" he acknowledges as Casey reaches the table.

"Hi, I didn't expect you to be eating with us. How's Meg doing?" Casey asks as he takes a seat. He flashes Veronica a warm smile before looking at Duncan.

_Us? Did he mean Veronica and him? Since when were Casey and Veronica an 'us'? _"Meg's doing much better. She's almost done with physical therapy and she should be back to school on Monday." Duncan responds as he looks at Casey steadily.

"Hi Casey, how are you?" Veronica asks as she smiles back at him. _Is he trying to prove to Duncan that someone else wants me since he thinks Duncan dumped me for Meg? God, he's sweet!_

"I'm fine." He turns his attention to Veronica. "Hey, did you want to go out to tomorrow? There's a new indie movie opening at the Mayan."

"Logan needed help with that thing tomorrow, remember, Veronica?" Duncan interjects.

"What thing?" Veronica asks in confusion.

"Hang on, let me ask Logan, he said something about it this morning" Duncan states as he gets up and walks several feet away before calling Logan.

"What is it with you people calling me from four tables away?" Logan asks as he gets up from his own table and walks further away from the crowd.

"You need to tell Veronica that you need her help with your case or something tomorrow night." Duncan states urgently.

"Why do I need her help with my case tomorrow night?" Logan asks suspiciously as he walks around the edge of the quad, closer to Duncan.

Duncan closes his phone, before gesturing to Veronica to hold on a minute as he walks up to Logan and stops a foot away. He shoves his hands in his pocket before he looks at Logan. "Casey Gant asked her out and if you don't tell her that you need her help tomorrow night, she'll probably say yes."

"Wait a minute. Is this for _my_ benefit or yours? Still can't stand for Veronica to date anyone else, even though you're dating Meg? I seem to recall you being a tad pissed that I was dating Veronica, so excuse me if I'm not seeing the altruism of this gesture!" Logan retorts sarcastically as he looks at Duncan.

Duncan glances back at the table to see Veronica talking with Casey. "Look, this probably isn't the place for this discussion. If you want Veronica to go out with Casey or you don't care, then don't say anything. If you tell her you need her help, she won't go. It's your choice." Duncan states as he turns to head back towards his table.

"Fuck." Logan stares after Duncan in frustration. He grabs his phone from his pocket as Duncan almost reaches the table.

"Hey…Duncan said you needed help with something?" Veronica asks as she answers her phone and watches Duncan sit back down.

"Yeah, but it doesn't have to do with the stakeout or anything. I have to meet with the insurance guys, regarding the claim for the house. I thought you could go with me just in case there's something I forget to list that you might notice. You were at the house more than Trina has been in the past few years, so I thought you could help." he lies. _Well, I had to get the stupid paperwork started sometime. Might as well be tomorrow._

Veronica pauses uncertainly for a moment before she responds. "Yeah, sure, but I don't know how much help I'll be though." She admits.

"That's okay, I'm sure you'll be more help than Trina." Logan states. _Great. Now I have to put up with a bunch of boring insurance guys for a house I'm not sure I care about anymore, just so Veronica doesn't go out with Casey? My life would definitely be easier if I was indifferent to Veronica Mars. _"Thanks for the help, I'll see you later." Logan replies before he hangs up the phone.

Duncan looks at Veronica with a questioning look on his face.

"Don't worry, just an odd-numbered day." Veronica smirks as Duncan looks confused. She looks at Casey before saying, "It looks like Logan does need my help. Maybe some other time, Casey?" she asks guiltily.

"Sure, no problem!" Casey replies agreeably as he wipes the skeptical look off his face. _I wonder how much money I'd have now if I bet that Logan didn't need any help until Duncan talked to him?_

Veronica smiles at Casey, slightly relieved that she didn't have to feel obligated to go out with Casey and worry if he just felt sorry for her or if he really wanted to go out with her. She glances over at Duncan with a wary look at the relieved expression on Duncan's face. _Why does he care if I date Casey? Is he trying to set me up with Logan after everything that happened this summer?_

"I can't believe we listened to Bootsie and Hector for all of detention and we didn't hear anything useful!" Logan complains in frustration.

Veronica rolls her eyes as Weevil nods in agreement with Logan's frustration. "Hey, at least we heard Hector tell Sully that he was going up to the Road Hog. Now we know where's he's going and we don't have to follow him right away. I'll meet you both at my place, okay?"

"Why do we have to meet at your place? Why can't we just leave from here?" Weevil gripes as they walk down the hallway.

"Maybe because half the athletic teams will be leaving at the same time and I probably shouldn't be seen walking down the hallway with you and Logan, let alone all of us leaving together!" Veronica retorts.

"Well, if you put out a little more, Mars, they wouldn't wonder why we're walking down the hallway with you." Weevil mocks.

Veronica glares at Weevil. "Thanks for the oh so helpful advice, Eli. I'll be sure to take that plan under consideration."

"Since most of the school thinks you actually got a 14 on your purity test, they maybe surprised that you're walking down the hallway with us rather than into the nearest janitor's closet." Logan smirks.

"I would ask if you enjoy being a jackass, but I guess that's a rhetorical question." Veronica responds sarcastically. She walks a little faster as she reaches the parking lot, separating herself from Weevil and Logan as she glances back to see Weevil slow down so he's no longer walking with Logan.

Veronica pulls into a darkened corner of the Road Hog parking lot and switches off the engine. She powers up her laptop and brings up Hector's audio connection.

Logan leans over the arm rest, trying to get closer to the laptop as Weevil leans forward in the back seat, trying to do the same. "I can't tell what anyone's saying, there's too much static."

"Crap." Veronica tries to adjust her laptop with no luck. "There's too much interference. I need to get closer." She reaches into her glove compartment and pulls out an ear piece as she pops the trunk. "Stay here. Weevil would be recognized in the Road Hog." She glances at Logan before adding with a smirk. "You won't blend." She gets out of the car and grabs a bag from the back of her trunk before disappearing around the back of the building.

"Where the fuck is she going?" Logan asks as he looks at Weevil in the rear view mirror. He watches as Weevil shrugs.

"No idea, man." Weevil watches as Logan tries to peer around the edge of the building. "Are you going to go after her? Because if you're not, I will" he challenges.

"Damn it." Logan glares at Weevil. "Hold your horses, I'm going" he bitches as he gets out of the car. Logan looks around before following Veronica around the back of the building. He looks around, wondering where she went when he notices a large dumpster and walks around the side of it. "Fuck, Veronica!" he yells.

Veronica jumps a little before she recognizes Logan yelling her name. She pulls the black bustier over head and zips it up, making sure it her bra straps are tucked under the narrow shoulder straps. "Geez, Logan, you scared the crap out of me!" she accuses.

"I scared the crap out of you?? What if I had been someone else? Why couldn't you change in fucking bathroom like a normal person or in the damn car?" He demands.

"I couldn't change in the bathroom since I already know it's in full view of the door and you can see everyone coming in and out. It would be kind of pointless to try and change my appearance if someone spots me walking into the Road Hog in my normal clothes." She retorts. "And I couldn't change in the car with you and Weevil there!" she defends herself.

"Considering that Weevil was about to follow you, it was almost him you flashed!" Logan states angrily.

Veronica shrugs and rolls her eyes. "I didn't flash anyone, Logan. I was still wearing my bra. Even if it was Weevil, it's no different than if I was wearing a bikini." She smirks at Logan. "It would only have been a problem if it was a complete stranger, but in general most people don't hang out behind the dumpster." Veronica reaches into the bag at her feet and pulls out a short, leather skirt. She grins to herself as she hears Logan swallow a groan, before she unbuttons the top button of her denim skirt.

"Jesus, Veronica!" Logan exclaims in frustration as he takes off his jacket and holds it in front of her, while he glances anxiously over his shoulder. He looks back at Veronica and wishes he kept his head turned away as he sees a flash of black lace panties while she starts to shimmy up her leather skirt. _Great, now I'll need to hold the jacket in front of me instead. _He turns to the front of the building as he hears the crunch of gravel and notices Weevil heading towards them. "Stay where you are, we'll be right there!" Logan orders him.

Weevil stops walking and tries to look past Logan. "I'm taking it that everything's okay then." He looks at Logan holding up his jacket with interest. "What is it you don't want me to see?" He watches as he sees Veronica reach her hand into a bag near Logan's feet and pull out a wig.

"You can put your jacket back on, I'm presentable now." Veronica mentions to Logan as she finishes adjusting her short auburn hair, the layered pixie cut brushing the edge of her ears.

Weevil looks at Veronica as she steps around Logan before whistling soundlessly. "Well, I don't know about presentable" he smirks. "I'd definitely bring you home, but I wouldn't be introducing you to my Grandmother!" he admits as he grins. He watches as Veronica rolls her eyes and tries to adjust her bustier to a more comfortable position. "Umm, could you do that again?" Weevil gawks at her. "Actually, better yet, how about I help you with that?" he offers as he steps towards her with an intent gleam.

"Well, that's enough fun and games." Logan interjects, causing Weevil to finally draw his eyes away from Veronica's body. "Are you planning to go in there like that??" he asks her.

"No, Logan, I just felt this would be a more comfortable outfit for a stakeout." Veronica retorts sarcastically.

"Why do you always have to be sarcastic?" Logan asks in an aggrieved tone as he throws up his hands. He looks at Veronica's black bustier and short leather skirt as a determined look crosses his face. _No way in hell was he letting her walk into the Road Hog alone looking like some guy's wet dream. _"Weevil, let me borrow your jacket. I apparently need to blend." He retorts. He waits as Weevil reluctantly hands him his jacket before he hands his own jacket to Weevil.

"You better not ruin it! I love that thing!" Weevil states protectively. He watches as Logan barely restrains himself from rolling his eyes.

Logan slips on the leather jacket and follows Veronica to the front of the building. He waits for a protest about him going in with her and grabs her hand to prevent her from walking in without him. He swallows a sarcastic retort about her finally having some common sense when the expected protest never materializes.

"It sounded like he was playing pool, although it was hard to tell with the static. We should look for a booth near the pool tables." Veronica states as she unconsciously squeezes Logan's hand tighter. _It's not the River Stix. I shouldn't be so scared._

Logan glances at her as he feels Veronica anxiously squeeze his hand. He resists the urge to tell her to wait in the car, knowing that she won't listen, no matter how scared she feels. _Fuck._ "Let's go" He walks into the bar and spots the pool tables on the left side of the room. He heads for a booth near a dimly lit corner of the room, with a full view of the pool table area. He waits for Veronica to slide into the booth before he slides in next to her.

Veronica gives Logan a startled look, expecting him to sit across from her.

Logan smirks. "This isn't the kind of place where you politely sit across from your girl. Not unless you want some other guy sliding up next to her."

Veronica looks around and notices that the few couples she saw alone were sitting on the same side of the booth, practically in each other's lap. "Hmm, apparently they don't really have rules on PDA here" she quips as she watches a couple practically swallow each other's tongues a few booths away. She looks around before surreptitiously reaching up to loosen the light bulb over their booth, causing the shadows around them to increase.

Logan looks around, hoping to spot Hector at one of the pool tables. "I don't see him, do you?" he whispers quietly. He glances at Veronica as he feels her stiffen slightly beside him.

"That's interesting. I don't think Uncle Liam will approve of Molly's tonsil hockey partner" Veronica states sardonically as she focuses on the couple a few booths away.

Logan sits up straighter in surprise as he recognizes the Weevil's gang member. "Hector and Molly??"

"Come on, we should go before we draw attention to ourselves." She looks over as she notices the lone waitress absorbed in the show on the TV near the bar. She nudges Logan to get him to move. "Don't let Molly see you. She'll probably recognize you." Veronica mentions softly.

Logan slips out of the booth, making sure to keep his face angled away from the couple in the other booth. He waits for Veronica to slide out behind him as he grabs her hand and heads for the door.

Veronica breathes a sigh of relief once they exit the bar, grateful they didn't run into any trouble. She looks around to make sure no one is watching them before walking back to the car. "Where's Weevil?" She questions as she looks at her car, before she steps closer and notices him slouched down in the back, appearing to be asleep. She watches as his eyes open slightly when she opens the door. "Good idea to appear passed out in the back, just in case anyone saw you."

Weevil smirks in response. "Yeah, I figured, that was probably the norm around here."

Logan gets into the car and hands Weevil's jacket back to him. "Thanks, man."

"Yeah, no problem" Weevil acknowledges.

"Weevil? Who was Felix dating before he died?" Veronica looks into the backseat at him.

"Felix? I don't know, he never said. I know he was dating someone, but he was actually kind of quiet about it for once. Why?" Weevil asks in confusion.

"I just remember that Felix seemed to be a ladies' man." She shrugs as she contemplates the different scenarios. "We just saw Molly and Hector together." Veronica reports. "What if Felix's murder had nothing to do with your gang and everything to do with Molly Fitzpatrick?" she questions Weevil. She watches as Weevil's eyes widen as he contemplates the idea that Felix's murder may not have been gang related.


	6. Chapter 6

Author: Rowanceleste  
Pairing / Character: Logan, Veronica, Duncan, hints of V/D, Veronica/Logan UST  
Rating: R for language  
Word Count: 6, 533  
x-posted to **veronicamarsfic**  
Summary: AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that normal isn't everything it's cracked up to be…  
Spoilers / Warnings: Through "Ahoy Mateys" (2x08) Possible spoilers up to 2x11 although it's AU from 2x08

Part VII

"Why did we have to get here so freaking early?"

_Why couldn't Wallace be here instead? He whines a lot less._ "Because in general, the school administration frowns on people breaking into anyone's permanent records." Veronica retorts sarcastically. "Try holding the flashlight steadier!" she growls at a sleepy-looking Logan.

Logan yawns loudly and tries to balance the flashlight at the correct angle and close his eyes. His eyes pop open quickly as a sharp elbow pokes him in the side. "Hey, watch where you're sticking your elbow!" he demands as he rubs his side.

"I was watching where I stuck my elbow. Pay attention! We still need to find Molly's file and the secretary gets here early." she rejoins as she starts searching through the Fs. She sighs as she sees an entire row of Fitzpatricks. "I wonder how many Fitzpatricks actually graduated from Neptune High?" she muses.

"Now who's not focusing?" Logan smirks as he leans against the filing cabinet.

"Found it!" Veronica whispers triumphantly as she pulls out a thick folder. She walks over to Mr. Clemmons desk and sits down. "Somehow I don't think this is full of 4H awards." She mocks as she eyes the thickness of the file.

Logan follows her over to the desk leans over her shoulder. "Wow, I didn't know you could be suspended that often without being expelled!" he states in amazement as he watches Veronica skim through the first several pages of Molly's file.

"What I didn't know is that you could actually get suspended in the first grade!" she replies as her eyes widen in shock. She resists the urge to continue to look through the rest of Molly's folder and skips towards the back. "We need to find out if there was anything suspicious that happened last year."

Logan steps back a few inches so he isn't pressed against Veronica when he leans over her shoulder. _We're supposed to be focused on Molly._ "What's that letter?"

"It's a letter asking for Molly to be excused from the last two weeks of school due to a 'family emergency'" she reports as she continues reading. "The signature says Liam Fitzpatrick, but how much do you want to bet that Molly wrote it?" Veronica asks him.

"Considering there's an actual period at the end of the sentence and 'emergency' is spelled correctly, I don't think Liam wrote this for his dear niece." Logan agrees sardonically.

Veronica slips the letter back into the folder, making sure to put it in the right order as a contemplative look crosses her face. "There's something else I need to check." She walks back over to the filing cabinet and waits for Logan to shine the flashlight in the right direction before putting the file away. She looks over the office to make sure nothing looks out of place and the file cabinet is closed completely. "Okay, let's go."

"Now where are we going?" Logan asks in confusion as he switches off the flashlight.

"Journalism class. Students are allowed to use the computers before school starts."

"I think they usually want the students to wait until the school doors are actually unlocked first though!" Logan retorts sarcastically.

Veronica smirks. "I know that. I just need to check something on the computer first. We're going to have to make sure we leave the school before the staff gets here."

Logan looks at Veronica as she heads to the journalism room. "Well, I would suggest we hide out in the bathroom, but what could we do to occupy ourselves until school starts?" he asks facetiously and watches as a faint blush covers her cheeks. _Well, she at least thought about the suggestion_. "How much time do you do you think you'll need on the PC?" he asks with a noncommittal look on his face.

She glances at Logan, trying to read the look on his face, before she sits down at a computer. "Not long, I think. I don't know if I'll find anything though." She pulls up the website and does a search under Molly Fitzpatrick's name. "There's a charge on here for shop lifting and another for resisting arrest but that's not what I was looking for" she admits.

Logan looks at her questioningly. "What did you expect to find?"

"The Fighting Fitzpatricks may not see like your typical church goers, but they are Catholic. From what we can tell, it appeared Molly was dating Felix for a while before he died. We don't know if she was dating Hector at the same time or if that happened afterwards but we know she missed the last two weeks of school now" Veronica summarizes.

"You think she got pregnant??" Logan asks as he follows her logic.  
"Well, I think we can be pretty sure that Molly wasn't waiting for marriage, no matter what the good Catholic nuns and priests were telling her." She responds mockingly before she shrugs helplessly. "Just because she was sexually active doesn't mean she was on birth control, especially given her strong Catholic background." She logs off the computer before glancing at Logan. "I know it's a leap of logic to assume she either had a baby over the summer or she had an abortion, but even if she went to visit her Dad in Chino, it doesn't take two weeks. Nothing else really makes sense."

"Even if she was pregnant and it was Felix's baby, why would the Fighting Fitzpatricks kill him?" he asks in bewilderment before adding, "I mean I get _why_ they would want to kill him, but to actually do it?"

Veronica shrugs in response. "I don't know. Maybe Felix didn't think the baby was his or he refused to support Molly and the baby? Maybe they didn't like the idea of a Mexican biker getting their precious niece pregnant? We still need to figure out if there even was a baby first. I'll check out Neptune Memorial's records from home later. I can't do it from school."

Logan nods, not bothering to question whether or not she could access sealed hospital records. This was Veronica Mars. "We should go. That secretary you were worried about will be here soon."

Veronica pulls up her email account. "Okay, I just need to check my email real quick and then we can go."

"Why is Duncan emailing you?" Logan asks in what he hopes is a neutral tone as he tries to keep the jealousy out of his voice. _Duncan's supposed to be with Meg now. Why he is emailing Veronica? _"Meg loved the present and she said to tell you Summer? What does he mean?" he asks in confusion as he reads over her shoulder.

"Hey, could you stop reading my private email??" Veronica retorts.

"You were the one reading your email in front of me" he shrugs.

"We should go; we don't want to have to explain what we're doing here." She replies as she logs off the computer and heads for the door. "Are you coming?"

_Never mind. Too easy._ "Yeah, I'm right behind you." He replies as he follows her towards the exit. Logan looks at the time on his cell phone as he watches the sun start to creep over the horizon. "We can take a nap in my car, you'll get a crick in your neck if you try to sleep in yours" he offers casually.

Veronica looks at him suspiciously. "Is this about me helping you with the insurance people tonight? It feels like an odd-numbered day…"

_What? Ohh. Too bad there won't actually be any actual ass-kissing involved._ "Hey, it's your neck, Mars" he shrugs. "Unless you think Casey would be upset if you take a nap in my truck?" he asks snidely.

"Casey wouldn't be upset!" she retorts as she waits for him to drop the back seats down before climbing into the back. _Casey doesn't have the right to be upset since we're just friends but Logan can think what he wants, he's dating Kendall anyway as far as I know.__  
_  
Logan scowls briefly at her back, not happy at her response. _She's supposed to tell me they're not dating, not that Casey wouldn't be upset. What does that mean anyway?? _He grabs a large blanket from under the seat before following her into the back. "Hey, you're not the only one who needs a nap!" he retorts as she scowls at him.

"Fine, just stay on your side of the truck!" she orders as she grabs the blanket from him before she sets the alarm on her watch. _This is so not a good idea._

"You know, for someone so little, you sure hog a lot of the blanket!" he retorts as he tries to grab a corner of the coverlet.

"So I've been told!" she replies without thinking, remembering Duncan's similar complaint. She closes her eyes, wishing she could smack herself unobtrusively as an uncomfortable silence fills the truck. _That was brilliant, Veronica. Now it feels like the temperature in this truck dropped about 20 degrees.__  
_  
Logan angrily grabs more of the blanket from her unresisting hands before turning his back to her and closing his eyes. "Get some sleep" he replies shortly, wishing he never suggested this idea. _Now I have the image of Duncan cuddling under the blankets with Veronica in my mind. _

A soft knock startles Veronica awake and her eyes pop open to find herself draped across Logan's chest, her head cushioned against his shoulder. _Crap. This truck really does make me throw myself at Logan!_ She blinks sleepily, trying to pinpoint the sound of the noise that work her up, accidentally digging her elbow into Logan's stomach as she tries to look around the truck.

Logan surfaces from the depths of sleep to see Veronica lying on top of him. _Well, if this was a dream, she'd be naked...clothed Veronica still works though._ Another knock causes Logan to turn his head and notice Weevil smirking at them through the window. He watches Veronica try to blink the sleep out of her eyes and he rubs the sore spot on his stomach, unsure whether she elbowed him accidentally or on purpose. "Did the yellow truck make you throw yourself on top of me or can you just not resist my charms?" he asks mockingly. _If she doesn't get pissed off, I'm not going to be able to resist a sleep-tousled Veronica and there's no way in hell I want Weevil watching._

"You probably dragged me on top of you!" she accuses with a glare, hoping to distract him from the fact she used him as her own personal body pillow.

He looks up at Veronica, noting that she still hadn't crawled off his body yet. He unwraps his arms from her body before stretching and nudging Veronica's lower body with his own. He stifles a smirk as he watches her eyes widen in realization of his body's reaction to the morning and her presence. _As if he woke up any other way but rock hard when he thought of Veronica._ "Weevil's waiting, so unless you want to give him ring side seats to what should be a private party, you should probably get up now." He states, although the thought of Weevil looking at Veronica if he didn't control himself was enough to help cool his ardor to a manageable level. Veronica closes her mouth even as a tell-tale blush suffuses her face, apparently deciding to hold back what was probably a smart-ass response and quickly scrambles off him and opens the door. He imagines Weevil seeing Veronica naked and a scowl crosses his face at the thought. The vision of someone else seeing Veronica naked helped get his body back under control as it imprinted across his brain and while he was glad he didn't have to stand in front of Weevil with a hard on, he wished he had thought of Mr. Mars playing Russian roulette with him instead and asking if he had pure intentions towards his daughter. _He'd probably shoot me for lying and shoot me for telling the truth._ He shudders briefly at the thought before he gets out after Veronica and closes the passenger door. The sun is only slightly further up in the sky and the parking lot is empty other than his Xterra and Weevil's motorcycle.

"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner. I had to help my Grandmother get my little brother and sister ready for school. Doesn't look like you guys missed my company though" he responds snidely as he looks at the faint blush still on Veronica's cheeks. He swallows the rest of his words at Logan's glare, deciding not to tease Veronica about sleeping on Logan or the way Logan had his arms wrapped around Veronica since he didn't want to start the morning with a fist fight. "Did you guys find out anything?" he asks as he looks at Veronica.

"Well, we found out Molly missed the last two weeks of school last year." Veronica yawns loudly. "Even with violent tendencies of the Fighting Fitzpatricks, I don't think they were the cause of Molly's absence since she seems to be their beloved niece. My guess is that Molly was pregnant and she either had an abortion or she left town to have the baby somewhere else. I'll make sure that Molly wasn't admitted to the hospital here though, just in case." Veronica shivers slightly as she remembers the feel of Liam Fitzpatrick's hand wrapped around her throat and the comfort of Logan's arms afterwards.

Logan looks at Veronica and barely resists the urge to comfort her. _She's not my girl anymore, even if she does fall asleep in my arms. I don't want to be her rebound boyfriend just because Duncan broke up with her._ He notices Weevil's smirk and shoots him another glare, making the assumption that Weevil was thinking about making another snide remark.

Weevil glances from Logan to Veronica. _They don't even notice how they lean towards each other. Freaking idiots._ "Molly Fitzpatrick is trouble with a capital 'T' but her family treats her like she's the Queen of Sheba. None of the Fitzpatricks would have put her in the hospital." Weevil confirms.

"We're not going to get the murder charge dropped from Logan unless one of the Fitzpatricks confesses or Dr Griffith drops his story that he's the witness. Somehow I don't think the any one in the Fitzpatrick family is going to voluntarily confess, unless Molly actually feels guilty that Felix was murdered." Veronica finishes as she toys with an idea. "I think we're going to have to plant a few bugs in the River Stix."

"Are you fucking crazy??" Logan asks incredulously.

Weevil looks at Veronica with mock concern. "Did you bump your head or something? Because correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they try to strangle you last time you were in the River Stix?" he responds sarcastically.

"Well, unless you two have any other bright ideas, this seems the most logical. Dr Griffith isn't going to meet the Fitzpatricks at home or in his office and we have no reason to believe he's in regular contact with them, so it's not like we can bug him every day. If we plant some bugs in the River Stix, we have a greater probability of finding out information that could help us." Veronica stares at both of them impatiently, waiting for them to reach the same conclusion.

"You know, your Dad would probably appreciate it if I just kill you painlessly now. It will save you from being raped and beaten to death later." Logan retorts.

"You might even move to the top of his list of suitable boyfriends for his daughter for your thoughtful self-sacrifice before kills you in retaliation!" Weevil responds mockingly.

Veronica rolls her eyes at their comments. "I wasn't planning to stroll into the bar when all the Fitzpatricks were there! I do have a plan!" she retorts before ruining her smug expression with another yawn.

"Logan wasn't comfortable enough as a pillow? You know you can use me if he's not doing it for you, V." Weevil smirks as he tries to distract her from her insane plan. He watches her eyes narrow in response and waits for her response in anticipation.

"Shut up, Weevil" Logan glares at him, barely resisting the urge to punch him in the jaw for continuing to ogle Veronica, ignoring the fact that he wasn't dating Veronica anymore.

"I'd tell you to kiss my ass, Eli, but you'd probably take that as an invitation!" Veronica retorts half-heartedly, her lack of a full night's sleep obvious. She looks around the parking lot as her alarm finally goes off. "The secretary will be here soon followed by those early bird students. We should go. We can talk about this more in detention before I help Logan with the insurance people."

"I'll let you know if I come up with a better plan" Weevil retorts as he walks towards the school before anyone spots them together.

Veronica looks at Logan awkwardly. _Should I apologize for sleeping on him or did he buy the idea that he pulled me into his arms?_ A familiar green Beetle pulls into the student parking lot and Veronica breathes a sigh of relief. _Saved by Mac!_ "I need to go talk to Mac. I'll be right back, don't go yet okay?" she tells Logan as she hurries towards Mac's Beetle.

He watches as Veronica waits for Mac to get out of her car before he notices a silver Porsche pull in a few spots away from Mac. _I don't want to be Veronica's rebound boyfriend, but I sure as hell don't want Casey to date her either. Maybe she can date Seth…I wouldn't have a problem if she dated him._ He snickers softly to himself, thinking of the unlikelihood of getting that to happen, the pleasant thought of a safe rebound boyfriend for Veronica annihilated as he watches Casey wait for Veronica to notice him. He glances back over to Veronica and observes her interacting with Mac as Mac shakes her head in response to Veronica's murmured conversation, then shrugs in confusion before nodding in obvious acceptance. _Now what is she up to?_ Logan scowls as he watches Casey get out of his car and stroll towards Veronica as she finishes up her conversation with Mac.

"Thanks Mac. I appreciate it!" She smiles in satisfaction and crosses off one more item on her mental check list.

"Hey Veronica"

Veronica watches Mac smirk before waving goodbye and heading towards the school. "Hi Casey. You're here early, aren't you?"

He nods in acknowledgement before shrugging slightly. "I was hoping I would catch you before class. Do you have time to talk? It looks like Logan is waiting for you though." He glances over at Logan as he lounges against the side of his Xterra and stares at them. "I'm not sure if he's scowling at you or me, but we could just ignore him if you want." Casey offers somewhat hopefully. _Disappointment weighs on him as he watches Veronica shake her head in response to his suggestion. I wonder if she'd even care if she knew I was interested in being more than friends?__  
_  
Veronica smiles at Casey before shrugging ruefully. "I would love to ignore Logan, but it seems to be impossible. I also need to talk to him. Is it okay if we talk later?" she asks him.

"Yeah, it wasn't a big deal. We can talk later." Casey acknowledges as he watches Veronica wave goodbye and veer off to walk towards Logan, despite her acknowledgement that she'd ignore him if she could. _Maybe that should tell me something?__  
_  
"Ever thought about dating Seth?" Logan asks as Veronica approaches.

A confused look crosses her face before she responds sardonically. "Seth's gay. I'm pretty sure he rather date you than me!"

Logan shrugs. "Hey, just asking." _Why can't she date a guy that wouldn't be interested in a real relationship with her? Then I wouldn't have to care about whom she's going to date next._ He sighs under his breath as he continues to lean against the car, a contemplative look on his face._ I could just tie her to my bed until she acknowledges it's me she loves and not Duncan…after various, continued sexual acts and declarations of love over several months I maybe convinced to believe her and untie her._

"Earth to Logan! Daydreaming about being the cream filling in an Olsen twins' sandwich again?" Veronica asks sarcastically as she waves a hand in front his face.

He looks at Veronica before smirking and responding obliquely, "My day dream was great actually, why did you interrupt? I assume you want something and that's why you wanted me to stick around?" he asks as he looks at her.

"Duncan had mentioned that Connor was filming around here this week. Do you think you can get me onto the set today?"

Suspicion clouds his mind and Logan's eyes narrow. _I suppose sex with Connor could mend a bruised ego now that Duncan is back with Meg._ "Why do you want to see Connor?"

"He's supposed to be a friend of yours; do I really need a reason? I have been helping you out" she responds with exasperation. _I need to get on that movie set, which means I actually need Logan Echolls to be helpful. I hope Hell really has frozen over.__  
_  
"Yes" he responds shortly as he shoves his hands into his pocket. _Fuck it. I'm pretty sure Connor wouldn't sleep with his groupies anyway._ "Never mind, I can get you onto the set, just give me a few minutes." He flips open his phone and makes the call, verifying that Connor was indeed on set and not that far away. "They're filming about 30 miles from here. You'll miss your first class even if we leave now though." He warns her.

"You don't need to come with me, there's no need for both of us to miss class."

"Connor asked me to be there." Logan lies easily. "Come on, I'll drive." He opens the passenger door for her and bows mockingly before she gets in and pulls the door shut behind her.

Veronica leans back against the seat and closes her eyes. _Between trying to exonerate one ex-boyfriend of murder and planning kidnapping and flight from the country for another, it's no wonder I'm tired!_ Veronica listens to the quiet purr of the engine and thinks back to earlier this summer when she would have rested her hand against Logan's thigh and he would have held her hand when he wasn't shifting gears. Veronica opens her eyes slightly and glances at Logan from under her lashes, wishing things were less complicated between them. _Maybe what's between me and Logan is normal for people our age anyway?_ She holds that comforting thought in her mind as she rhythmic sway of the truck puts her back to sleep.

Logan looks over at Veronica, resting peacefully in the next seat and wishes things were less complicated between them. _If she were my girlfriend, I could trust her not to cheat on me, but I don't know if I can trust her not to break my heart again and then dump me. On the other hand, if we don't get back together and she decides to be with someone else, I won't have the right to say anything._ Logan feels his jaw clench at the thought of Veronica with someone else and turns onto the road Connor told him they were using as a remote location. He notes the barricades and security cars up ahead along with numerous vehicles parked along the side of the road as he drives up to the make shift security check point. He flashes a look at the security guard before stating, "Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars to see Connor Larkin." He waits for the security guard to check his clipboard and nod.

"We've had to tighten security measures due to the people that have tried to sneak onto the lot. If you follow Bob here, he'll take you to Mr. Larkin." The security guard responds as he gestures to the other guard in the booth with him.

Veronica wakes up as Logan stops at the gate and she smiles at the security guard's response before gushing slightly. 'Thank you so much. I can't wait to see Connor; this will be so much fun!" She continues to smile and watches the first guard relax his wariness. _Typical teenage groupie, that's me!__  
_  
Logan glances at Veronica briefly and tries to figure out what she's up to with her vapid blonde groupie impression. _Fun? If she breaks into a cheer, I think I'll need to check her for drugs._

"If you pull into the West parking lot, I'll take you to Mr. Larkin from there." The security guard waves the truck forward as he gestures towards the correct parking lot before getting into a golf cart and following them.  
Logan pulls into the parking lot and switches off the engine before turning to look at Veronica. "What are you up to, Mars? Don't pull the vapid fan girl act on me either, _I know you_" he adds as he watches her eyes widen innocently.

"What conspiracy theory have you pulled out of _your_ ass this time, Logan?" Veronica asks mockingly before she looks over the security waiting for them. "The guard is waiting, we should go." She gets out of the truck and shuts the door before Logan can continue questioning her.

The security guard waits for them by another set of barricades, a group of trailers off to the right while a small well-used path disappears over the hill to the left. "Mr. Larkin is on set right now, they're filming just on the other side of that hill. This is actually a pretty big scene, almost everyone's in it." He glances at the two kids, trying to determine if they were impressed before noticing the slightly ill look on the young girl's face. "You okay, ma'am?" he asks in concern.

Veronica looks at the security guard with an embarrassed smile. "The morning sickness suddenly hits me at odd times, is there a bathroom somewhere that I could use or some place I could rest?"

"Ohhh, I'm sorry. There's a bathroom in the make-up trailer and a couch in there where you can lie down for a little bit if you need. We can wait for you." The security guard casts a brief glance at the boy, wondering if he was the father before patting the girl's hand awkwardly in a avuncular gesture.

"No!" Veronica rushes out before ducking her head shyly. "I'm already embarrassed; I'd rather you didn't wait for me. I think I just need to lie down for a minute, will that be okay?" She glances at the guard again, still looking faintly ill and mortified.

The guard looks at her before nodding firmly and patting her hand again. "Sure, you don't look like a stalker or anything; I don't see the harm in letting you lie down for a few minutes. The make-up trailer is the blue one over there." He starts heading towards the trailer as the girl hurries slightly ahead of him.

Logan follows behind the security guard, trying to figure out what the hell Veronica was doing. _She's lucky she held the security guard's attention so he didn't see the stunned look on my face!_ He looks around for Connor's trailer, trying to determine if it was close by the make-up trailer. _Even if she hides in Connor's trailer, he's filming right now and she must know I'm not going to let Connor go back to his trailer alone when she could be waiting for him. What is she trying to do?_ Logan tries to catch Veronica's eye as she comes to a halt in front of the make-up trailer, his suspicion growing as she glances at the guard with a self-conscious look on her face. He steps forward to grab Veronica's hands gently between his own. "Honey, why don't I stay with you? You know how you like me to rub your back when the morning sickness bothers you."

Veronica sharply digs her fingernails into Logan's palms, hoping it hurts as she smiles at him tremulously. "I know how much you wanted to see Connor when you found out he was in the area. I'll be fine after I lie down for a few minutes. I would feel awful if you didn't get a chance to see him, especially when we can't stay that long!" She smiles at the security guard gratefully as he opens the door of the trailer and points to the couch visible from the doorway.

"You can lie down right there ma'am and I'll take your friend here to see Mr. Larkin. Just lie down and relax and don't worry about a thing." The security watches as she gives her boyfriend a brief kiss before stepping into the trailer and sinking down tiredly on the couch.

"Thanks. I'm just going to close my eyes for a few minutes and lie down. That sometimes helps the nausea."

The security nods solemnly before gesturing to the closed door on the other side of the room. "The bathroom is right through there if you need. We'll just be over that hill you saw if you feel well enough to join us in a little while." He waits for her brief nod before closing the trailer door and turning to the other teenager by his side. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the set."

Logan glances back at the closed trailer before shrugging slightly. "Yeah, sure. I've haven't seen Connor in a while, it will be nice to catch up." He follows the security guard and wonders how he's going to explain this visit to Connor when he has no idea why they came. He smiles slightly to himself as he realizes that whatever Veronica is up to, it doesn't seem to be about having Connor stroke her ego or any other part of her. As the set comes into sight, he notes the organized chaos that seems to be the hallmark of movies sets whether in the studio or on location."It looks like Mr. Larkin is just finishing up his scene." The security guard walks over to the edge of the set to wait for Connor to be finished.

Logan watches as Connor grabs a towel to wipe off his face after the scene ends before strolling over to him, the towel draped across his neck.

"Logan! I thought Veronica was with you?" Connor asks as he looks around for her.

He scowls at the interested expression on Connor's face. _The guy is almost ten years older than her for Crissakes!_ He ignores the fact that the thought is hypocritical given his prior relationship with Kendall and glares at Connor.

"She's resting in the make-up trailer; her morning sickness is bothering her, Mr. Larkin." The guard states reproachfully. He watches as shock races across Connor's face.

"Morning sickness?? She's-?" Connor looks at Logan in stunned disbelief. "Is the baby yours or-?"

"Of course the baby is mine!" Logan retorts angrily. _What the fuck am I talking about? She's not even pregnant!_ He experiences a brief moment of fear that Veronica really was pregnant with Duncan's kid before he remembers the nail marks she dug into his palms when he tried to stay with her to see what she was doing. He glares at Connor, still irrationally pissed off that he would think Veronica's imaginary baby would be fathered by anyone else.

Connor throws up his hands in surrender at Logan's glare. "Hey man! Just asking! " He swallows the rest of his questions, deciding it was better not to ask if Veronica was still dating Duncan or if she was back with Logan now. Looking over Logan's shoulder, he notices Veronica slowly walking towards them. "I guess she's feeling better." He states as he nods in Veronica's direction. He waits until she almost reaches them before stepping past Logan and pulling her into a hug. "How are you feeling, honey?" he asks as he rubs her back gently and leans back to look into her face.

_Honey???_ _Didn't they only meet twice before?_ He glares at Veronica's arms as they wrap around Connor's naked back. _She doesn't need to return his hug! Especially not when he's half-naked!_ Logan barely resists the urge to punch Connor in his pretty face and steps forward. "Can't get your own woman, Connor?" He retorts as Connor glances back at him with his arms still around Veronica.

Connor smirks at the jealousy apparent in Logan's voice. He tries to step back and release Veronica and realizes her hands are locked behind his back, a dazed look in her eyes. He reaches behind him and grabs her hands to pull them apart before stepping back and keeping a hold of her hands, more to piss off Logan than anything else. "I take it you are feeling better now?" he asks again this time teasingly. He waits for her to nod in response, still apparently unable to say anything before he lets go of her hands with a smile. "That's good."

"We should go." Logan states abruptly as he reaches out to grab Veronica's hand. He tightens his grip on her fingers as he sees a protest about to form on her lips and watches as the dazed look fades momentarily from her eyes as she nods.

Veronica smiles at Connor, completely side tracked now that her mission was accomplished. _We probably leave now just in case I get discovered._ "Yeah, I guess we should go. It was great seeing you again, Connor!" She feels her heart skip a tiny beat as Connor aims his megawatt smile at her before waving. _And I thought Logan lust was potent? No wonder Connor Larkin makes millions for his movies!_ She smiles back at Connor over her shoulder and waves goodbye as Logan tries to speed walk her down the path, not bothering to wait for the security guard to catch up with them.

Logan continues to pull Veronica towards his truck, mimicking under his breath, "It was great seeing you again, Connor!" He slows down a little as he realizes he's pulling her, before grimacing in disgust as he realizes she doesn't even notice, the dazed look back in her eyes. He stops when he reaches the truck and opens the passenger door for her. "Are you going to get in the truck or are you afraid you might wipe some of Connor's sweat off your hand on the door handle?" he asks sarcastically as Veronica continues to stand by the open door.

She grins uncontrollably at the thought of Connor's sweat on her before getting in the truck, barely noticing as Logan slams the truck door shut behind her.

He jumps into the driver's seat and slams his own door behind him, completely oblivious to the slightly bulkier messenger bag now at Veronica's feet. "Who would have thought that the high and mighty Veronica Mars practically cums at the sight of six pack abs and a pretty face!" he mocks crudely as he tries to cover his irritation. He feels his jaw clench as he sees Veronica shrug with a lack of concern, not denying she practically drooled all over Connor. _What's so great about Connor Larkin anyway?_ He starts the engine and turns on the radio with an angry flick of his wrist as he throws the truck into reverse and peels out of the lot. He turns the radio up to drown out any attempt at conversation as notices Veronica's satisfied grin out of the corner of his eye.

Veronica sighs happily as she watches the clouds fly by, thankful that she was able to accomplish what she needed to do and hug a half-naked Connor Larkin at the same time. She looks at Logan out of the corner of her eye and notices him tapping his steering wheel in rhythm to the angry boy music he had blaring from the radio. _At least he's too pissed off that Connor hugged me and I hugged Connor back to cross examine me about why we went to see Connor in the first place. _She smiles smugly before glancing out the window, deciding that Logan looked even sexier when he was mad. She contemplates calling Duncan before concluding it was better not to draw any attention to her messenger bag by riffling through it for her cell phone. As Logan pulls into the school parking lot, she rolls her eyes at his stubborn silence, surprised that he managed to actually not talk for the entire ride back, hiding behind the loud music. She reaches down to grab her messenger bag and hops out of the truck, before turning to look at him. She waits for him to switch off the engine and look at her, a sullen pout still gracing his lips. "Thanks for the ride. It was nice seeing Connor." She adds, knowing he'll believe that was the reason for the trip after the giddy way she behaved. _Connor does make it believable that a woman would travel sixty miles round trip just to look at him._ She smirks back at Logan's mocking sneer and closes the truck door. "See you in detention, Logan!" She grabs her phone from her bag and starts walking towards the school before making a call. "Hey Chief, I need a favor…think I could stop by the station later tonight?"


	7. Chapter 7

Author: rowanceleste  
Pairing / Character: Logan, Veronica, Duncan, Meg, Veronica/Logan UST  
Rating: R for language and some sexual situations  
Word Count: 4,281  
x-posted to **veronicamarsfic**  
Summary: AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that normal isn't everything it's cracked up to be…  
Spoilers / Warnings: Through "Ahoy Mateys" (2x08) Possible spoilers up to 2x11 although it's AU from 2x08

Part VIII

Logan lounges against the lunch table next to Dick and Beaver when the realization hits him that if Veronica just wanted to make goo-goo eyes at Connor, she wouldn't have needed to pretend she was pregnant. _I knew she was up to something!_ He smugly considers different options for getting the truth out of Veronica, ignoring the Chinese food getting cold next to him.

"Uh oh! Target's been locked!" Dick snickers softly as he looks at the girl heading towards them.

Looking up, Logan notices Carrie Bishop heading purposefully towards him, a sly smile on her face. As he looks past Carrie, he notices Veronica several feet behind her with Casey walking next to her. He leans back on his elbows and adopts a bored expression, waiting to see what Carrie wanted and trying not to dwell on the fact that Casey seemed to be practically glued to Veronica's side. "Hey Carrie…"

Carrie strolls forward and straddles Logan's thighs before resting her hands on his shoulders and sitting down. She grins and shifts forward in his lap. "Hi Logan." Wrapping a hand behind his neck, she moves her other hand to his jaw before leaning forward to kiss him deeply, her tongue thrusting into his mouth as she ignores Dick's whooping beside her. She pulls back, pouting slightly as she fails to get Logan to respond, before blowing Dick a kiss in response to his "Yeah, Baby!" comment. "Little Logan doesn't want to play with me?" Carrie licks her lips before thrusting her lower lip out in a sexy pout and running a hand down Logan's chest. "I'm having a party this weekend. I want Little Logan to come. He's welcome to bring friends as well."

Logan moves his head slightly and looks over Carrie's shoulder, noticing Veronica's angry glare before she tries to hide behind an indifferent expression. He smirks at Veronica in response, before deciding to rub in his free agent status. He turns back to Carrie and smiles before removing his elbows from the table and resting his hands on her ass. "Little Logan was distracted…how about we give him a second chance and see if he's interested?" He watches the coy smile cover Carrie's face again before she leans back down and presses her lips against his own. He thrusts his tongue into Carrie's mouth, wondering if Veronica was still watching him. He feels Carrie try to suck on his tongue and instant retreats from her aggressive tactics, vaguely surprised his dick didn't respond to the idea of Carrie sucking something else. _The only girl I want trying to devour me is probably holding hands with Casey Gant right about now. _He pulls his mouth from Carrie before pushing her off his lap. "I guess Little Logan still isn't interested. Maybe you should try Casey?" He offers mockingly as he watches a flash of anger cross Carrie's face.

_Asshole._ Carrie glances behind her and watches as Casey scribbles on Veronica's hand before she turns back to Logan, catching him looking at Casey. "Gee, Logan. Afraid Casey is going to get into Veronica's pants before you can again?" she asks snidely.

Logan quirks his eyebrow, a challenging expression on his face as he hides the annoyance he feels at Casey thinking he had the right to touch Veronica. "You know, if you don't think you can interest Casey because he seems to like Veronica, just say so Carrie." He watches as a furious expression settles on Carrie's face and holds back his smirk. _God, she's easy… in more ways than one._

"Ohh, I can make Casey Gant want me! It just takes a little patience. He's not as easy as some others!" Carrie responds as she looks at Dick who grins in acknowledgement. "Just watch me!" She walks over to Casey's table and rests a hand on his shoulder until he turns to look at her. She hides her irritation as Casey continues to hold Veronica's hand in one of his, a marker held in his other hand. "Hi Casey…I just wanted to let you know that a few of us are having a party this weekend. You're welcome to join us if you want." Carrie skims a barely civil glance over Veronica before saying politely. "You can bring a friend if you want."

"Thanks for the invitation, I'll let you know." Casey responds politely as he turns back to Veronica, carelessly dismissing Carrie.

"Ouch!" Dick responds in mock sympathy as he watches the exchange. "I didn't think it would work, but nice try, man! Veronica _is _hotter than Carrie, but Carrie's got a bigger rack and she puts out a lot easier. I guess Casey doesn't care about those things though." Honest bewilderment colors Dick's voice as he tries to comprehend a guy not caring about bigger boobs and an easier lay.

"Carrie may have bigger boobs, but Veronica's are better. If you look at her when she wears that red tank top with the—Umm, not that I've ever looked!" Beaver stammers to a halt as he notices Logan's glare.

"Smooth, bro!" Dick snickers softly. "I'm thinking Logan doesn't want anyone else to notice Veronica's boobs" he states wisely as he notices Logan still glaring at Beaver. "Not that there's much to notice!" he mentions honestly, of the firm mindset that bigger was better when it came to boobs. He hits Logan playfully in the arm, trying to distract him from possibly feeling the need to beat the crap out of Beaver.

Logan hits Dick back, distracted from glaring at Beaver. "You know, you better quit thinking about Veronica like that or I might tell her little friend Mac. Isn't she coming surfing with us this weekend?" He smirks as an agitated look crosses Beaver's face at the mention of Mac.

"Hey, don't say anything to Mac…I haven't thought about Veronica like that since I noticed Mac—Umm, not that I ever thought about Veronica like that!" he corrects himself hastily as he looks at Logan.

"Fine. I'll keep my mouth shut to Mac as long as you keep your mouth shut if Veronica asks if I sicced Carrie on Casey." Logan warns him. _Not that Veronica won't automatically suspect me but it helps if I'm the one confessing my evil doings instead of Beaver._ He waits for Beaver to nod gratefully in acknowledgement and hopes that Veronica doesn't ask Beaver about Carrie. He smirks to himself at the idea of Beaver ever asking out Veronica. _She'd have a leash around his balls in less than two minutes. Poor guy. _A small smile plays across Logan's face as he thinks about the pissed off glare Veronica aimed at him before she tried to hide the fact that she cared.

Veronica scrubs at her hand in the bathroom sink, grimacing slightly as she realizes Casey used permanent marker. _Too bad my rubbing alcohol is at home, I'll probably never hear the end of this one. _She looks at her watch as the bell rings before sighing and walking to detention. Taking a seat in the back, Veronica opens up her laptop, hoping to distract Logan from making any asinine comments. _If he can resist making any stupid comments about Casey, maybe I can restrain myself from making comments about Logan's renewed taste in easy women. _An annoying feeling of being watched causes Veronica to look up from her screen as Logan strolls into the room and sprawls in a chair next to her, followed closely by Mr. Clemmons. She watches as Weevil slips into the room behind Mr. Clemmons and takes the seat on the other side of her.

"Ms.Mars, Mr. Echolls, Mr. Navarro." Mr. Clemmons acknowledges. "I'm hoping by the end of detention tomorrow, all of you will have learned your lesson and I won't need to see you three next week." He glances at all three faces, pleased that they at least had managed to restrain themselves from sarcasm for a few minutes as silence fills the room. "You know the drill by now, I'll be back to check on you at the end of detention. Try to stay of out trouble" he admonishes, still slightly leery at the sight of the three of them obviously in cahoots.

Logan waits for Mr. Clemmons to leave before reaching out to grab Veronica's hand to check out what Casey wrote on it. "Hmm. Veronica wants Casey. How edifying."

"Gee, I'm guessing Casey doesn't know that you have Logan's name tattooed on your ass?" Weevil mocks.

Glaring at Weevil, Veronica barely resists the urge to kick Logan as she hears his amused chuckle. "If I hear a rumor about me having Logan's name tattooed anywhere on my body, the rest of the student populace is going to hear I'm not the only one." She watches in satisfaction as Weevil pales slightly beneath his tan.

"Geez, Mars! I was just kidding!" Weevil retorts, wishing he never said anything.

Logan smirks at the uncomfortable look on Weevil's face before quirking his eyebrow at Veronica. "Since you're having my baby anyway, you might as well tattoo my name on your ass." He watches Veronica's eyes widen in shock before she remembers her story from this morning. _No wonder surprise was the number one weapon of the Spanish Inquisition! Let's see if I can pry the real reason she wanted to go to Connor's set out of her!!_

"I never said the baby was yours!" she blurts out defensively as she scrambles to think of a solid reason for going to the set other than ogling Connor.

"Baby?? I was going to suggest you two have sex so you'd be less annoying to the people around you, but apparently you don't know enough about the birds and bees for me to make that suggestion!" Weevil retorts as surprise and shock battle for supremacy in his mind.

"Imaginary baby, don't worry. It's a long story. I was working on a case." Veronica states repressively, hoping Logan didn't ask for more details about her case. "Do you think we can get back to how we're going to bug the River Stix?"

"For the record, I told Connor the baby was mine." Logan announces, ignoring Veronica's request to get back to the reason they made sure they had detention together.

"You told Connor I was pregnant?? You couldn't have just said I was using the restroom?" Veronica exclaims in mortification as she contemplates having to see Connor again.

"Actually, the security guard told Connor you were pregnant. I just told him the baby was mine." Logan corrects, smirking at the flush suffusing Veronica's face and tapping his pen idly.

"While this soap opera is fascinating, do you think we could get back to trying to prove the Fitzpatricks murdered Felix?" Weevil heaves a put-upon sigh as tension seeps from his muscles. _At least I won't need to beat the crap out of Pretty Boy for knocking up Veronica._

"I have a plan to get those bugs planted later tonight." Veronica states smugly.

"Does this mean another stakeout?" Weevil asks with interest. "If so, I want you to wear that top again…you know the one that looked practically painted on?"

Logan smirks in acknowledgement even as he throws his pen at Weevil in retaliation. "Could you actually even breathe in that getup?" he asks Veronica as he watches her roll her eyes in response.

"Yes, I could breathe. No, we're not going on another stakeout and I plan to save that top for my next date, not the Fitzpatricks." Veronica retorts, savoring the flash of jealousy in Logan's eyes after his make-out session with Carrie Bishop during lunch.

"So what's your plan for bugging the River Stix then?"

Veronica looks at Weevil before smirking. "Let's just say it's foolproof and involves a few friends in not-so low places!"

"Were you going with your friends? DK wanted to hang out tonight after we meet those insurance people, but I can tell him we can hang out some other time if you're going to the River Stix." Logan looks at Veronica, determined she wasn't going to the River Stix without him, regardless of what other people maybe helping her. He tenses up, ready to argue with her about going with her, the thought of Veronica in danger overriding his jealousy at the idea of Veronica wearing that bustier on her next date.

_You won't be able to hang out with Duncan some other night, Logan. _"No, I'm not planning on going with them, there's no need for me to be anywhere near the River Stix. You should hang out with Duncan tonight since you're leaving to go surfing after school tomorrow." Veronica looks at Logan, silently glad that Duncan made sure he would spend the day before he left hanging out with his best friend. She waits for Logan to shrug in acknowledgement before she relaxes.

"I guess I'll just stay home and knit then."

"Well, I am still waiting for that friendship bracelet!" Veronica mocks as she holds up her bare wrist for Weevil's inspection, glad it sounded like everyone would be staying out of trouble for one night.

"I could use some doilies for the dining table" Logan adds facetiously as he looks at Weevil.

"Yeah, you can both kiss my ass. " Weevil retorts. He turns his head to smirk at Veronica. "Now, if you want to do that literally, the offer's open."

"I'm honored, Weevil, really, but I think I'll pass!" She looks up as she hears footsteps heading towards the classroom. "Looks like detention's over. Clemmons is heading this way." She waits for Clemmons to enter the classroom and make his announcement before grabbing her messenger bag and standing up. She turns to look at Logan. "Are the insurance guys coming to the suite or do we have to go somewhere to meet them?"

"They said we should wait in my bedroom for them." Logan mocks as he follows Veronica out of the classroom, watching the swing of her hips as she walks down the hallway. He smirks at the expected glare and quirks his eyebrow in response. _If I didn't spend time thinking of ways to get Veronica into my bed, she'd probably think either something's wrong with me or I don't want her anymore!_

"Really? I could see if they said that in your old house. After all, I'm probably the only girl that actually can talk about the furnishings in your room rather than how the ceiling over your bed looked!" Veronica mocks.

"Well, not everyone only saw the ceiling…sometimes they saw the wall or the bedspread" He smirks at the angry glare shooting from Veronica's eyes, happy at her reaction. _I told her she only wishes she's indifferent to me. I don't know how she can even think of dating anyone else when she belongs with me!_

Veronica bites back a nasty retort, aware that she didn't have a right to say anything about what Logan did before or after they dated. She settles for focusing on the topic at hand. "I'll meet you at the hotel. I have some pictures of some of the stuff in your house from the summer on my laptop."

"The ones I took?"

She nods in confirmation and tries not to think about the fun they had taking those pictures. The metal detectors provide a welcome distraction and Veronica heads through them before glancing over her shoulder at Logan, noting the contemplative look on his face. "I'll see you in a little while."

Logan nods in vague response, lost in memory as he walks through the metal detectors himself. _I want those pictures. _As he heads to his car, he remembers taking picture after picture of a smiling, laughing Veronica, posing in every room of his house as she tried to teach him how to use her camera. _There should be some of us together when she tried to show me how to use the timer. _A sudden grin envelops his face as he remembers the pictures they took in his bedroom as Veronica tried entice him to figure out the manual focus. _I wonder if those pictures came out? If she hadn't dumped me the next day, I'd have some great pictures! _He gets in his truck and heads to the hotel, wondering how he can get a copy of those pictures.

Veronica hurries to the penthouse, hoping that she beat Logan home as she swipes the key card in the door. A sigh of relief escapes as she sees Duncan sitting by himself in front of the TV. "Oh good, I'm glad I caught you alone. I need to talk to you!"

Duncan tosses of the remote onto the table and breathes his own sigh of relief. "I'm glad it was you. I just sprinted out here when I heard someone at the door." He gestures to the hotel furniture. "Luckily none of this stuff is mine, so it's not obvious that most of my clothes are packed unless someone's checking out my closet."

Veronica nods before she smirks at Duncan. "Well, I don't think you need to worry about Logan hijacking your argyle sweaters again. Besides, if Logan's in anyone's closet, it's probably his own." _Or maybe Weevil's?_ She grins as Duncan rolls his eyes, glad they can banter about Logan again.

"Hey, can you look in the bedroom and see if I've left out anything important?" Duncan shrugs, acknowledging his lack of packing skills as Veronica smirks at him again. He waits for her to follow him into the bedroom before shutting the bedroom door behind her. "I don't want Logan to see you searching my room or checking out my empty closets" Duncan states in response to her unspoken question.

"I suppose that would be awkward." Veronica acknowledges as she searches through Duncan's drawers, smiling at the picture of the four of them on Duncan's dresser, waiting to be packed. She looks at the picture before glancing at Duncan. "I'm glad you're spending time with Logan before you leave. He's going to miss you, you know."

Duncan nods in acknowledgement, regret shadowing his eyes briefly before a stubborn look covers his face, his determination to go through with the plan obvious.

"Does Meg know the plan for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, she said she and Grace will be ready. Were you the one that arranged for Meg's parents to get invited to that overnight religious workshop? Meg said her parents asked if she was up to babysitting tomorrow night." He looks at Veronica, trying to determine if Meg's parents going out of town was a lucky coincidence or part of her well-orchestrated plan.

Veronica grins smugly at Duncan. "There's a reason I was beating you out for the Kane scholarship, Boy Wonder." A faint beep is heard and she glances at the closed bedroom door, realizing the beep meant Logan was home. "We should go; I need to help Logan with this insurance stuff." She heads towards the door with Duncan behind her, opening the bedroom door to see Logan grabbing a soda from the fridge.

_Why was Veronica in Duncan's room and why was the door closed?_ He closes the refrigerator door with his hip before quirking his eyebrow at Duncan and Veronica, a surge of jealousy causing his gut to burn. "While Meg's away, the mice will play?" he asks in a forced neutral tone as he glances pointedly at the lack of Meg's presence in the hotel suite and the previously closed bedroom door.

"You know I wouldn't do that to Meg. Neither would Duncan." Veronica retorts in exasperation, before walking over to grab her own soda from the fridge. "When are the insurance guys getting here? The sooner we get it done, the sooner you and Duncan can play with each other".

Logan smirks back at Veronica, unable to resist a comment as his stomach unclenches at Veronica's words. "Jealous because you know we'd kick your ass at PGA Tour?" He watches Veronica's eyes widen slightly in surprise that he didn't make a perverted comment. _No way in hell am I going to joke about Duncan and me playing with Veronica together. I don't want to ever share with anyone else._

Duncan pipes up and confesses with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Just for the record, Veronica can kick my ass at PGA Tour, which means she can probably kick yours."

"Don't worry, I'll leave you boys to your delusions of superiority and let you play each other." Veronica states in amusement at the look on Logan's face. _I don't think he's looked that surprised since I hustled him at poker last year! _She turns her head at the knock on the door. "Sounds like your insurance guys are here." She walks over to grab her laptop as Logan heads over to open the front door. A cynical expression crosses her face at the group of insurance agents solicitously shaking Logan's hand and commiserating with him on the loss of his home. _Funny how insurance people aren't as sympathetic when you're not rich._ She watches as the group walks towards her and grabs her laptop self-consciously waiting for the first snide look when they realized she wasn't an 09er like Logan or Duncan.

"Gentlemen, this is Veronica Mars. She has pictures of the house that we thought you might find helpful. I thought maybe you could go through the lists you already had, let us know if you had any questions and then we could show you the pictures to see if they help." He waits for the insurance people to nod in acknowledgement, understanding that Veronica wasn't just anyone and should be treated with respect.

Veronica muffles a yawn, glad it wasn't actually possible to be bored to death since this was so not how she wanted to die. She looks at the man in the pin-striped suit next to her, his name already forgotten. "That's pretty much all the pictures that should be relevant."

"Do you have any pictures that might document the contents of Mr. Echoll's room?"

Veronica blushes slightly before clicking on another link. "Yes, I have some pictures that should work."

"Actually, we don't need to see those pictures. If you have anything that you need documented still, you can either just talk to me or we can just forget about that portion of the claim" Logan states hastily. _No way in hell do I want these pin-striped twerps seeing half-naked pictures of Veronica! What the hell is she thinking?_ He watches as she ignores him and clicks on the link and he reaches over, ready to grab the laptop from her before he sits back down in surprise at the pictures she opens on the screen. _I forgot about these._ He looks at the pictures that Veronica took of him lounging around his room, prompting his grab for the camera and the photography lesson that later ensued.

"Will these work?" She avoids Logan's gaze and directs her question at one of the insurance people, embarrassed at the amount of pictures she took of Logan, trying to capture what made him so special to her. She waits for the insurance guy to examine the photographs, looking at the electronics and furniture in the room rather than the main subject before he nods in confirmation.

"This will work fine. Thank you, Ms. Mars"

Veronica looks at her watch and then glances at Logan. "Is there anything else you need? I kind of have an appointment."

_Did she mean appointment or date? I thought she told Casey she couldn't meet him tonight?? _Logan looks at Veronica's enigmatic expression and remembers that she planned to meet with her friends in not-so low places to get the bugs planted at the River Stix. "Are you sure you don't need me to go with you?"

Shaking her head in response, Veronica smiles slightly, appreciating Logan's desire to make sure she didn't get herself killed. She grabs her laptop before slipping it into her messenger bag and swinging the bag over her shoulder. "Don't worry; I'm just going to see a few old friends." She holds out her hand to shake the hand of each insurance agent, attempting not to forget the niceties that were drilled into her during childhood. "It was nice meeting everyone, thank you for your assistance." She waits for the flurry of goodbyes to die down before waving at Logan and throwing him a smile, deciding to skip going to Duncan's room just to tell him she'd see him tomorrow. She walks to the elevator and checks to make sure she still has the bugs she needs in her bag before getting in her car and heading to her destination. Veronica pulls into the parking lot and re-applies her lipstick before pulling her skirt a little higher and getting out of her car. She heads into the building and flashes a smile at her quarry.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Smokey "the finally legal"

Veronica grins in acknowledgement before cutting to the chase. "Hi Phil….I need a favor."


	8. Chapter 8

Author: rowanceleste  
Pairing / Character: Logan, Veronica, Duncan, Meg, V/L UST  
Rating: R for language and some sexual situations  
Word Count: 2,672  
x-posted to **veronicamarsfic**  
Summary: AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that normal isn't everything it's cracked up to be…  
Spoilers / Warnings: Through "Ahoy Mateys" (2x08) Possible spoilers up to 2x11 although it's AU from 2x08

Part IX 

"So you didn't come over here to jump my hot body now that you're eighteen and I wouldn't get arrested?" Phil looks at her with a crestfallen expression, laughter gleaming in his eyes.

Veronica gives him a look of mock regret. "I would love to have a tawdry sexual encounter with you Phil, but Dad has this weird aversion to me having sex with his friends and former colleagues."

"It's because your father is a cruel man and doesn't really like his friends or former colleagues you know."

Grinning in amusement, Veronica slips her arms through Phil's before nodding in agreement. "Yeah, that's probably the reason. He just hates you guys." She looks around the fire station, making sure no one else was close enough to overhear them. "Mind if we head back to the office? You can tell the boys we had that tawdry sexual encounter if you want" Veronica winks and lets him lead her back towards his office. She takes a seat and crosses her legs, causing her skirt to ride up even higher, noting the grin of appreciation that crosses Phil's face as he seats down behind his desk.

"Are you sure you didn't want to jump my bones or do you just like torturing me?" Phil asks idly.

"A little torture is good for the soul, Phil" she retorts with an unrepentant grin.

Phil gestures to the outfit and the freshly applied lipstick. "I've known you since you first started practicing your wiles on unsuspecting men, so judging by the look, this is probably going to be a really big favor, isn't it?" he asks in a resigned tone.

"Actually its two really big favors and I'll need the help of some of the boys as well"

Veronica shoves her books into her locker, going through her mental checklist one more time to make sure she didn't forget anything important. _Grace and Meg won't be reported missing until Saturday night or Sunday morning and they'll be long gone with Duncan by then as long as everything goes to plan. So far everything is in place. _She smirks to herself, glad that the Kanes were in Napa and Celeste wasn't in town to keep an eagle eye on her precious boy.

"What's the smirk for, Mars? Finally figured out the last step necessary in your plan for world domination?"

Tilting her head to the side, Veronica watches as an answering smirk crosses Weevil's face. "Well, if the head tilt won't do it, I've been practicing my pouty face as a backup plan." She sticks her lower lip out and widens her eyes innocently.

"The pouty face doesn't work on me, Blondie." Weevil retorts half-heartedly as he stares at her pouting mouth. _Maybe she could actually conquer the world with a head tilt and those sweet lips? _Shaking his head slightly, he focuses on the reason he walked over to Veronica's locker. He leans in slightly, crowding closer to Veronica. "Were your friends able to get those bugs planted?" Weevil asks quietly, trying not to be overheard.

Veronica opens her mouth to answer him as her cell phone rings. "Hang on."

"Tell Navarro that if he's going to flirt with other people, I'm definitely not going to the prom with him." Logan quips, trying to hide the irritation in his voice as he holds his cell phone to his ear and looks towards Veronica's locker. He stares as Weevil continues to lean close to Veronica, his arm braced on the top of her locker, obviously trying to have a private conversation with her. _I much preferred the days when other guys were afraid to approach her out of fear she'd verbally or physically castrate them. _He sighs into the cell phone, knowing that Veronica was rolling her eyes at him, even though he couldn't tell from this distance. "So what does Weevil want? Is he asking if your friends were able to plant the bugs?"

Looking down the hallway, Veronica spots Logan sitting on the floor in front of his locker, a textbook open in his lap. She holds the cell phone to her ear and looks at Weevil as she speaks into the phone, answering both their questions. "Phil said he'll call me today to confirm he planted the bugs, but he said he'd take care of it."

Logan scowls at the phone before responding. "Phil? Don't you know any females, Mars?"

Veronica slams her locker shut, barely missing Weevil's fingers at Logan's implication. "Well, given I thought we were trying to avoid sending high school students into the River Stix and Loretta Cancun is not what I'd called a trusted accomplice, it kind of limited my options!" she retorts. Striding towards her first class, she completely misses Weevil's exasperated glance at her back, too preoccupied with bickering with Logan to notice that she just walked away from Weevil without saying goodbye.

Quickly getting up from the floor and following Veronica down the hallway, he smirks as he passes Weevil, aware that Veronica accidentally blew Weevil off. He grunts as Weevil shoves past him in the hallway, not sure if the shove was just for show or payback for smirking at him. Grinning slightly, he tries not to gloat over the fact that he obviously distracted Veronica enough to ignore one of her boy-toys. He focuses on her retort, confused by her comment. "You're right, we don't want to send in high school students, but who the hell is Loretta Cancun?"

"Gee, Logan. You may not know her name, but you and your little friends probably would know her on sight given that she's a stripper at The Seventh Veil" Veronica mocks.

"Aww – jealous, Sugarpuss?" Logan smirks as he watches Veronica throw her messenger bag on the floor of her classroom, an annoyed expression on her face.

"Only of her tip money!" Veronica glances up to notice Logan lurking outside the door of her classroom. "You may want to get to class yourself if you want to have any hopes of graduating with the rest of the senior class, Logan" she retorts before snapping her cell phone shut and tossing it in her bag as the first bell rings.

Throwing Veronica a mocking salute, he turns around and heads to his own class. _The last thing I want is to be stuck in this place again during summer school._

Logan drops onto the bench, quickly grabbing a French fry from Veronica's tray before her hand reaches out to smack him. Ignoring Veronica's glare, he finishes his French fry and debates risking her wrath to steal another one. "Well, did you hear from your friend Phil yet?" he asks as he darts his hand under her arm and grabs another fry.

Veronica huddles protectively over her French fries. "Try and steal another one and you're going to be missing a hand!" Popping a French fry into her mouth, she watches as he smirks. She glares at him in irritation before breaking into a smug grin. "Apparently even members of the Irish mafia need to be careful about where they drop lit cigarette butts since that's the number one cause of accidental fires." She notices Logan's eyes widen slightly before shrugging. "I hear they're short one bathroom now, but it doesn't sound like it was much of a loss. Phil and the boys were able to plant the bugs when they inspected the place to make sure there wasn't any lingering flames or hot spots in the walls."

"Since it sounds like the fire was set by your little friends in the fire department, I don't think the Fitzpatricks have to worry about the rest of the place burning down." He retorts as Veronica smirks.

"Well, you know what they say. Crime doesn't pay!" Veronica shakes her head in mock regret as she eats another fry. "Shouldn't you go back to your own table now? Dick might slip his leash without you there to watch him!" she mocks.

"You should stay and eat lunch with us." Duncan puts his tray down on the table and rolls his eyes at the surprised looks thrown his way. Picking up his apple and tossing it to Logan, he sits down across from them. "What? It's not like we haven't done this before. I think we can manage not to kill each other for one lunch period."

Holding the apple in his hand, suddenly even more aware of the warmth from Veronica's knee pressing against his own, Logan looks at Duncan warily. "You want all three of us to have lunch together?" He glances at Veronica as she opens and then suddenly closes her mouth, surprised that she didn't object.

Grabbing an empty plate from his tray, Duncan reaches over and grabs a large handful of French fries from Veronica and shoves the plate towards Logan. He ignores her shout of objection as he grins at Logan. "Yeah, I want us to eat lunch together today and look - You have an apple and French fries now! Isn't that pretty much a balanced diet in the Logan Echolls world of diets?" Duncan asks as he smirks at Logan. He waits for Logan to swing his other leg over the bench before breaking into a smile and stealing a French fry off Veronica's plate.

"Between the two of you, I won't have say French fries left and if that happens, there will be hell to pay!" Veronica threatens as she huddles over her fries like a prisoner in mess hall.

Duncan smirks at her before unwrapping his sandwich. "Clemmons wouldn't believe it if you planted a bong in i my /i locker."

"Gee, thanks DK!" Logan retorts as he pops a French fry into his mouth, looking disgruntled at the implication. A smirk crosses his face as a thought occurs to him. "Lamb would love to throw me in jail, but somehow I get the impression that he hates Veronica even more. He would love it if he could prove she was behind it all and he got to toss her in jail instead."

Veronica shrugs in response before smirking back. "If Sherriff Lamb was actually smarter than me, I'd be worried about that possibility. Since he's not, both of you better back off my fries!" She looks wistfully at the sadly diminishing pile of fries on her plate before glancing over at the pile on Logan's plate. "Hey!" She scowls in protest as he suddenly puts an entire handful of fries in his mouth and moves his plate further away from her before throwing her a suspicious glare.

Chuckling softly, Duncan feels warmth fill him and takes a bite of his sandwich, savoring that elusive feeling of normal. He glances around at the other tables, wondering what everyone else was doing. "Hey, where are Beaver and your friend Mac? I don't see them anywhere."

Punching Logan in the arm at his automatic smirk and eyebrow wiggle, she replies to Duncan. "I don't think they're having a quickie during lunch! Mac said something about Beaver taking her to the surf shop and getting a wet suit since she doesn't have one."

"We could get her a wet suit down in Ensenada, but if she wants a 'pretty one' then she'll need to get one before we leave" he confirms. He smirks at Veronica. "Yours won't fit her, we had to buy yours in the kids section, remember?"

"It was the juniors section, not the kids section, there's a difference!" Veronica retorts hotly before punching Logan in the arm again. She watches as Logan rubs his arm, feeling slightly better that he was at least pretending her punch hurt.

Duncan pats Veronica on the hand in commiseration before throwing Logan a mock glare. "Hey, don't make fun of her, man! At least she's tall enough to ride the all the rides at Magic Mountain now. Remember when we were twelve and she had to stand on her tiptoes?"

Veronica scowls before throwing her remaining fry at Duncan. "If that was supposed to be you defending me, you suck at it Kane!" she retorts as Logan snickers softly.

"So how's Meg doing?" Logan asks curiously, tantalized by the possibility of eating lunch with DK, Meg and Veronica every day, just the four of them. Scanning the quad as he waits for a response, he notices Casey sitting at a table with Shelly Pomroy and Carrie Bishop, his eyes focused on Veronica. He slides closer to Veronica and moves his plate in between them, a smile crossing his face as Casey glances away from the sight of Veronica sitting next to him and sharing his French fries.

"Meg's doing fine. She's babysitting for her parents this weekend." Duncan mentions once Logan focuses on him again. "I told her I'd be over to help her with Grace."

"You're going to baby sit instead of coming surfing with us?" Logan asks incredulously.

Duncan glances at Veronica before responding. "Meg needs me" he states simply, wishing he could say more.

"At least her parents won't be home" Logan acknowledges before shrugging. "How about I give you a rain check? You can come with us some other weekend" he offers casually, hoping to continue their tentative truce.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I don't know when I'll be able to go, but I'll take that rain check, okay?" Duncan replies as a brief smile crosses his lips.

"I hate to interrupt all this male bonding, but lunch is over." Gathering the empty plates on her tray, she turns to smirk at Logan. "Besides, there is no rest for the wicked!"

"You know, Mars…I think beneath all that hostility lies the deep-seated insecurity that your dog loves me more than he does you" Logan taunts as he swings his leg back over the bench.

Shoving the tray into Logan's stomach, she waits for him to grab it before it falls to the ground. "He does not! You just give him i human /i food!" She retorts huffily at Logan before grabbing her bag and heading to class.

Duncan breaks the silence as Logan stares at the tray now in his hands. "I just thought she was mad at you because you were an ass-hat, not because you might have stolen the number one spot in her dog's affections."

Logan snickers softly as he stands up. "You know, not to quote Veronica, but if that was supposed to be you defending me, you suck at it, Kane." Looking over in the direction Veronica disappeared, he shakes his head. "Back-up's such a 'Mommy's boy'. I can't believe she actually thinks he loves me more."

Shrugging good-naturedly, Duncan picks up his own tray. "Just think of it this way, she probably trusts the judgment of her dog more than she does most people, so that's a good thing." He smirks before adding, "The other positive is at least one member of the Mars family doesn't want to kill you right now. One out of three's not bad."

As he contemplates the possibilities, Logan's face breaks into a grin. "Veronica doesn't want to kill me right now…but if I can train Back-up to attack Casey on sight that may change." He lifts his hand in a short wave as Duncan grins back conspiratorially. "See you later, DK."

"Later, man. I'll take you up on that rain check as soon as I can." Duncan returns Logan's wave before heading to class, his mind occupied with his plans for later that day.


	9. Chapter 9

Author: rowanceleste  
Pairing / Character: Logan, Veronica, Duncan, Meg, V/L UST  
Rating: R for language and some sexual situations  
Word Count: 7, 547  
x-posted to **veronicamarsfic**  
Summary: AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that normal isn't everything it's cracked up to be…  
Spoilers / Warnings: Through "Ahoy Mateys" (2x08) Possible spoilers up to 2x11 although it's AU from 2x08

Part X

"I bet you didn't think La Mesa even had a Welcome Center, did you?"

"Veronica?" Meg asks in astonishment as the woman in front of her snickers softly.

Veronica looks around the deserted parking lot before replying, "Well, I hope you weren't planning to meet anyone else here. For some reason La Mesa doesn't rate high on the top tourist hot spots." She glances at Meg and grins in appreciation. "You're looking pretty stealthy yourself there, Meg. I love the hair!"

Meg self-consciously strokes her new auburn tresses. "Thanks! You picked out a great color for Grace and me. Duncan was waiting for me to try it out so I would finally shut up about it." She smiles as Duncan rolls his eyes at the girl talk.

"Did you have any problem getting the IDs?" Duncan asks before his eyes suddenly widen in astonishment. "Oh my God, you have a purse! You're not Veronica, are you?"

She punches Duncan in the arm before pointing at herself and grimacing. "My oh so handy messenger bag doesn't quite go with this look. Not to mention, it's sort of like James Bond flashing his MI6 credentials. It kind of gives away the subterfuge" she responds with a smirk. Reaching into her purse, she pulls out three passports and hands them to him. "As of now, you are Riley and Erin Sullivan. You're on vacation with your daughter Summer and you promised her that you'll stop at the Mall of America so she can go to the Underwater Adventures Aquarium."

"Riley? I always knew you liked him!" Duncan states indignantly.

Veronica blushes in embarrassment before retorting, "What? Buffy needed a semi-normal guy in her life! It gets a little nerve wracking when you have to constantly worry that your boyfriend will turn into a soulless monster if he experiences a moment of true happiness."

Running a hand down Duncan's arm, Meg smiles softly. "I always thought Riley was a nice guy." She waits for Duncan to smile back at her before taking Grace's passport from his hand. "I should go over Summer's profile with Grace one more time."

"How's Grace doing? Does she understand?"

Duncan shrugs helplessly. "She thinks her parents locked her in the closet because she told them that she wished Meg was her Mommy." He glances back at Meg before adding, "I think Meg's going to want to stay in Seattle even after her Aunt Chris wins custody of Grace." He grabs Veronica's arm and walks them further away from the car. He smiles softly before clasping her hands between his own. "Even when you don't look like you, I'd recognize you anywhere." He pauses before blurting out, "I have something to tell you…"

"Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line?" Veronica jokes nervously.

Rolling his eyes, Duncan shakes his head. "No and it's not about never getting involved in a land war in Asia." He glances back towards the car again before turning to look at Veronica with a serious expression on his face as he takes a deep breath. "I love you. I'll always love you." He shakes his head as she starts to interrupt. "No, let me finish..." He waits for her to be quiet before continuing. "I'll always love you Veronica, but Meg needs me. I don't think you've needed me in a long time." Smiling somewhat sadly at her lack of rebuttal, he finishes. "Meg loves me and I think we can be happy together. I wanted to let you know that I plan to stay in Seattle with Meg after all this is over."

"I understand." She responds finally, unsurprised that Duncan was planning to stay in Seattle with Meg. "We'll always be friends, Duncan." she adds, knowing that he understood that she did love him in that sense. Hugging him tightly, she slips her arm through his and turns them back towards the car. "We should go check on Meg before she thinks we're going to run off together."

Duncan squeezes her hand affectionately before pulling his arm away and striding forward. He reaches Meg and kisses the uncertain expression from her face before hugging her. "Hey baby, how's Summer doing?" He smiles as she returns his kiss warmly.

"She thinks we're playing make-believe, especially since she got to choose her name." Meg smiles at Veronica, feeling more secure with Duncan's arm wrapped around her. "Thanks for thinking of giving her a choice, Veronica. It means a lot to her."

Smiling, Veronica replies, "Well, I'm just glad she picked a good name. I wanted to be Princess Buttercup when I was eight. That would have kind of stood out on a passport." She looks from Duncan's SUV to the late model Ford SUV she drove. "We should move your stuff into the other car so we can get going. Just because this is an unmanned Welcome Center away from the coast doesn't mean it won't get any traffic. I don't want to push our luck." She waits for both of them to nod in agreement before walking over to Duncan's SUV. "C'mon. If we all pitch in, it shouldn't take that long." After some organized effort, the last item was transferred over to the Ford, causing Duncan to breathe a sigh of relief as he hefted the suitcase up to the tailgate.

Flipping open the latch on the heaviest suitcase, Duncan lets an outraged yell as he holds up a large book. "Meg! You brought homework with you?"

She smiles sweetly before pointing her nose in the air. "Well, I don't know about you, Duncan Kane, but just because we're on the run doesn't mean I plan to neglect my homework. I've already missed too many months of school and I don't want to get further behind."

Laughing softly, Veronica grabs the book from Duncan and puts it back in the suitcase. "At least you'll have some good material for your back to school essays, even if you can't actually turn them in to a teacher." She reaches into her purse and pulls out a PDA with a GPS attachment. "This is for you. It has the directions programmed in already and a wireless connection so it will automatically update your route if you have to detour. I removed the email program since I don't want any email addresses associated to your GPS coordinates, just in case they crack the new email accounts I created for you."

"Wow. You thought of everything!" Meg states in awe as she checks out the PDA. "You even added the link for the Balboa County Public Records website so we can check the verdict of the court case."

"Don't use the PDA to check the website, since they could be logging the IPs that browse to that site." Veronica cautions, before adding. "I just wanted you to have the link. Make sure you rotate Internet cafes when you go into the city and use the IP Anonymizer I told you about before you log in."

Duncan smirks before reassuring Veronica. "Don't worry. I remember everything you told me earlier this week and before you say it, Meg will make sure I don't lose the PDA either." He tosses the keys to the Mercedes to Veronica before he pats the SUV fondly and sighs wistfully. "It's too bad you can't keep the car. Lilly would have wanted you to have it."

Veronica snickers softly. "Yeah, I don't think I'd be able to explain that I'm not an accomplice if I have your SUV." She grins at Duncan before adding, "Lilly expected to trash this car before she turned eighteen so she'll enjoy the fact that it's at least going out with a grand adventure." Grabbing the keys tightly in her hand, she looks from Meg to Duncan before nodding as if coming to a decision. "You guys ready? It's time to go."

"Thanks for everything, Veronica" Meg says softly as she gives her a hug.

"Hey, 'aiding and abetting' is my middle name!" Veronica replies facetiously before returning Meg's hug. She grins and adds, "Besides, if I can't help the people I love evade the police, I might as well turn in my secret decoder ring."

"Have you talked to Dick or Logan?" Mac asks nervously as lugs her surfboard onto the shore. She sits down on the beach and gratefully accepts the towel from Cassidy as she watches Dick and Logan expertly carve through the waves.

"You mean about pretending that Veronica drove down with you and she's going to drive back with Logan?" He shakes his head in response. "I haven't yet. Hopefully Dick will be willing to convince Logan."

Mac looks him apprehensively. "Do you think Logan will have a problem with covering for her? I promised Veronica, not to mention my Mom would ground me if she ever found out that Veronica didn't come with us." A small smile crosses her face as she intertwines her fingers with Cassidy's before confessing, "I've had a great time with you and I really don't this to be our first and last date until I'm no longer grounded."

Cassidy ducks his head shyly and smiles. "Yeah, I've had a great time as well." Glancing towards the water, he watches as Dick heads towards the shore. "Why don't you go up to the house and grab a shower while I talk to Dick?" A determined expression crosses his face as he stands up and reaches a hand down to help Mac. "Don't worry, you won't get grounded. There's no way I want to wait before we can go out again." A faint blush creeps up his neck followed by a happy smile as Mac gives him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking up to the house.

"Dude, she spent the night and the best you can get is a kiss on the cheek?" Dick mocks as he walks up to Cassidy. "Either she's quiet when she's knocking boots or you guys didn't get up to much last night!"

"She's not like that, Dickie! Don't be an asshole." Cassidy retorts as he tries not to get angry. "Look, if anyone asks, I need you to pretend that Veronica was down here this weekend with us. Mac's Mom thinks she is and if she finds out differently, she's going to ground her and I won't be able to see her for a while."

Dick shrugs before slapping Cassidy on the back and smirking. "Sure, little bro, whatever will get you laid! I don't want to have to be embarrassed that my brother's a virgin anymore."

"You just need to tell anyone that asked that Veronica drove down with Mac and she went back with Logan."

"Did you tell Logan yet?" Dick asks as an uncomfortable look crosses Cassidy's face.

"No, not yet. Could you let him know?" Cassidy asks casually, trying to hide his hopeful expression.

Dick stares at him in disbelief before asking slowly. "You want to me to tell Logan that Veronica drove down with Mac on Friday afternoon and have him pretend that she's driving back with him tonight?" Cassidy nods in response, confirming what Dick said. "So I take it that Veronica's Dad thinks she's been with us since Friday afternoon, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Why does it matter?" Cassidy asks in confusion.

"Geez. You're such a dumbass sometimes, Beaver!" Dick retorts. "Look, Veronica's obviously not been home since Friday afternoon if her Dad thinks she's with us. It's almost Saturday night now and since I'm pretty sure Logan didn't have her hidden in his room last night, it means she's been out tripping the light fantastic with someone else." Shaking his head, Dick backs away slowly. "There's no fucking way I'm going to be the one to tell Logan. You're on your own, little bro!"

"Tell me what?" Logan asks warily as he plants his surfboard in the sand behind Dick, causing him to turn around in surprise. A cold feeling coalesces in his gut as identical nervous expressions settle on their faces. "Tell me what, guys?" he repeats.

Dick holds his hands up in the air as he backs towards the house. "Dude, I have nothing to do with this! Beaver will explain!" he replies hastily as he beats a quick retreat.

Wishing he could follow Dick, Cassidy shifts his feet nervously. "Hey. Yeah, umm, I just need this favor for Mac."

Logan relaxes slightly before pointing his thumb at Dick's retreating form. "Why would a favor for Mac cause Dick to run away? I have a feeling this favor is more than needing to borrow my Xterra, isn't it?" he asks suspiciously.

"Mac told her Mom that Veronica was coming with us so that her Mom would let her go. Basically she told her mother that she and Veronica were driving down together but Veronica was going to drive back with you" Cassidy blurts out in a rush. He braces himself for the explosion as Logan tenses.

"Given everyone's reaction, I take it Veronica told her Dad the same thing?" He asks in a controlled tone as he contemplates what else she could be doing.

"Yeah, I think so." Cassidy confirms reluctantly as Logan's eyes darken furiously. "It doesn't mean she's with Casey though." he adds, hoping to defuse some of Logan's anger.

Logan smirks angrily before retorting, "Gee, Beaver…since she doesn't seem to be here with us and she's obviously not home in her own bed like a good little girl, I kind of doubt she lied to her father because she was playing bingo at the VFW all night!"

"Maybe she's working on a case?" Cassidy offers.

Shaking his head in response, Logan replies, "She would have told me!" _Unless she was trying to protect me. _"If she thinks I'm going to lie for her when she's with Casey, she's crazy!" he retorts. Grabbing his surfboard, he strides back to the house, determined to find out what's going on. He points a finger at a trailing Cassidy before venting, "If she _is_ on a case and she ends up getting hurt, I'm going to fucking kill her!"

Cassidy pauses in consternation before hurrying to catch up with Logan. "Uhh, doesn't killing her if she gets hurt sort of contradict the idea of protecting her?" He tightens his arms around his surfboard as Logan glares at him.

"Shut up, Beaver!" He continues towards the house before muttering, "It makes perfect sense! If she tells me what she's up to, then I can protect her from getting hurt and I wouldn't need to worry about her!" Dropping his surfboard against his car, he turns to Cassidy before smiling grimly. "Of course, if she's with Casey then I guess we'll find out if she thinks he looks so pretty after he's been run over with a two and a half ton Xterra." Logan heads into the house to gather his stuff, unwilling to be kept in the dark no matter what the reason.

Hurrying quickly, Cassidy follows Logan into the house, determined to stop him from browbeating his girlfriend for information. He waits for him to throw his belongings into his bag before following him into the living room. "I don't think Veronica told Mac what she was doing" he reveals as Logan comes to a stop near the couch.

Mac turns around to face them both. "Don't ask me. I have no idea. I figure if she wanted us to know, she would have told us." Her eyes shift between the duffle at Logan's feet and his angry expression and clenched fists. "Maybe you should wait to go after her?"

He unclenches his fists before laughing bitterly. "Don't worry, I have a long history of cheating girlfriends and I haven't laid a hand on one of them yet. " He takes a deep breath before trying to appeal to her. "Look, I just need to know that she's okay. I swear I won't hurt her."

"Even if she is with Casey, she wouldn't be cheating on you. You guys aren't dating." Mac points out as she ignores Cassidy's wince. "I just thought someone should state the obvious" she adds as Logan glares at her in response.

Logan shakes his head, unable to explain that he and Veronica belonged together without either sounding like an overly sensitive pussy or a complete caveman. He sighs in frustration as he tries to control the anger churning in his gut. "Do you know where she is?" he asks one last time.

"I don't know where is she or if she's with anyone. Honest." Mac replies, hoping that Logan didn't screw things up for Veronica, whatever she was doing.

Nodding in response, he grabs his bag before replying shortly. "Thanks. I'll see you guys later."

Cassidy looks over as his brother strolls into the room. "Do you think we should warn Casey, just in case he is with Veronica?" he asks nervously.

Snorting in response, Dick throws himself onto the couch. "No way am I getting in the middle of that one!" He grabs the remote from the table before shrugging. "It's not like Casey wasn't warned. Logan almost jumped him for just sitting at the same table with her. All I can say is that if he's with Veronica, he better run fast because Logan's going to beat the shit out of him." Smirking, Dick adds, "It should be okay though, chicks dig scars."

Rolling her eyes in response, Mac gets off the couch and walks over to stand beside Cassidy. "You know your brother's a Neanderthal, right?"

Cassidy nods in acknowledgement. "Yeah, but don't hold it against me, okay?" Capturing her hand, he gives her a smile. "Want to go grab something to eat?"

Mac nods before grabbing her cell phone. "Sure, let me just warn Veronica first." She glances towards the couch before asking wryly. "Are we required to feed him?"

Pulling Mac towards the door, Cassidy smirks. "We can bring him back some leftovers." He rolls his eyes at Mac as Dick cheers loudly at the scantily clad women romping on TV. "Somehow I don't think Dickie will even notice we're gone."

Leaning into the open window, the woman begins in Spanish, "Mi coche analizó. Necesito conseguir a la frontera del San Ysidro. ¿Puede usted darme un paseo?" She sighs in frustration as the sun begins to fade, noticing the confused look on the man's face. Determined not to take her chances with drunken frat boys, she tries again in English just in case she massacred her Spanish. "My car broke down. I need to get to the San Ysidro Border. Can you help me?"

Smiling broadly, the old man touches her hair briefly before nodding. "Ahh¡Usted no parece una mujer americana!" He opens the door for her and slides over to give her room.

Veronica smiles wryly before getting into the truck, grateful they didn't seem inclined to ask any questions. "Yes, I'm an American. Guess my Spanish isn't as good as I thought, huh?" She reaches into her purse to grab her phone as it starts to vibrate and looks at the caller ID. Ignoring the curious look from her fellow passenger, she lets the call go to voicemail, positive Mac was warning her that Logan had left Ensenada. She points at the phone before offering an explanation for not answering. "Es mi ex-novio enojado." Deciding that angry ex-boyfriends must translate easily, she smiles as the old man pats her hand in comfort. She grabs her purse as they pull up near the border crossing and smiles gratefully. "Thank you! Gracias! I can walk from here."

Waving away the offer of payment, both old men pat her on the hand before closing the truck door after her and merging back into traffic.

The pedestrian bridge looms out of the now encroaching darkness and Veronica sighs in relief. She steps quickly to the side to avoid the projectile vomit of a drunken college student before getting in line. As she nears the front of the line, she flips open her phone and holds it to her ear before rolling her eyes. "I know! Can you believe he was _such_ a complete asshole? I don't know why I date him! Yeah! He and his friends totally ditched me to go into that strip club!"

"Ma'am? Identification please?"

Veronica looks up briefly. "Oh sorry. Hey, Amber, I have to go but I'll call you when I get back to the dorm, okay?" She snaps her phone shut and drops it into her purse before reaching into her pocket. "I only have my San Diego State ID, is that okay?"

The border patrol agent glances at her purse suspiciously. "You don't have a US driver's license or passport, ma'am?"

She shrugs helplessly before clutching her purse. "My driver's license was in my wallet which was in my purse but I gave it to my loser boyfriend when I went to the bathroom and my wallet was gone when I looked for it later."

"Did you report the matter to the police?"

She shrugs again. "Well, I don't know if he stole it or if he just left my purse on the table and someone else stole my wallet. He's kind of a moron. It's not like he needs the money either, he was just being a jerk probably." She looks at the agent imploringly. "We kind of got into a fight when I wouldn't go to a strip club with him and his friends and now I just want to go home."

"You came to Mexico with your boyfriend, Ms -" he glances down at the ID in his hand. "Alvarez?"

Rolling her eyes, Veronica nods. "I don't plan for him to be my boyfriend anymore though. It's also Elisa with an 'i' not a 'y' and yeah, Tad drove us down here. We wanted to celebrate because we just finished this major group project that's due on Monday. I did most of the work though." She reaches into her pocket again to pull out a five dollar bill. "I just have the five bucks I had in my pocket and my school ID, but as long as it's not too late I can take the trolley back to campus."

"We take crime here very seriously, Ms. Alavarez. Are you sure you don't want to report the matter to the police?"

Veronica shakes her head before narrowing her eyes and stating vengefully. "No, but I know Tad's parents and when I tell them about how he ditched me in Mexico, he'll be lucky if he has a bicycle to ride around campus instead of the Beamer that Mommy and Daddy bought for him!"

Nodding solemnly, the border guard hands her back her identification. "Good luck with getting back to campus then, Ms. Alvarez and I would be more careful with the company you keep in the future."

"Thank you, sir…I will be. I'm never coming to Mexico with Tad again, that's for sure!" she retorts before walking over to the American side of the border. She glances back to verify the guard was now preoccupied with someone else as she walks over to the USA Border Grille & Diner. She smiles at the harried waitress and orders a cheeseburger before heading back to the bathroom. Taking a quick look under the stall doors, she hops onto the counter and moves one of the ceiling tiles to the side. Smiling in satisfaction, she grabs the car keys she left there before sliding the tile back into place. She hops down and dusts off her hands before shoving the keys into her pocket. "Air vents and ceiling tiles. Whatever happened to hiding things in fake rocks?" she comments idly as she smirks to herself.

Logan growls in frustration as voice mail picks up. He braces his phone between his ear and shoulder as he steers and waits for the beep. "Hey, DK. It's me. Have you seen Veronica this weekend? I wasn't sure if you've heard from her and I don't want to worry her Dad. I just need to make sure she's okay. Give me a call back when you get this, okay man? Thanks." Grimacing slightly, he scrolls down his list of recent calls before hitting the send button. He waits until he hears a voice on the line before he launches into his question. "Have you seen Veronica this weekend?"

"Blondie told me she was spending the weekend with you. Don't tell me you lost her already, Echolls?"

"I didn't lose her. I just wanted to know if you've seen her" he retorts as he scowls through his windshield.

"Sounds a lot like you lost her to me, white boy. I know she's tiny but she's kind of noticeable if you get my drift." Weevil taunts.

"Yeah, you need to notice her less, Paco. Let me know if she calls you." He instructs as he waits for Weevil's acknowledgement.

"Hey, you think she's in trouble or something?" Weevil asks, his worry coming clearly through the phone.

Logan sighs before gunning his accelerator. "I don't know. The best I can come up with is she's either in trouble, causing trouble or allowing Casey Gant to touch what does not belong to him."

Weevil snickers softly. "Well, if it's the first two then I feel sorry for you. If it's the last one, then I feel sorry for Casey although he may think it was worth the hospital time. Let me know if you need help taping him to the flagpole." He pauses before adding, "I'm surprised you haven't fitted that girl with a LoJack yet."

"Believe me…if I could do that without getting my ass handed to me, it would save me a lot of stress!" Logan retorts.

"You know…she bought this old junker from my uncle a few days ago. She said her Dad needed it for surveillance but who knows? It was an old blue Impala, first three letters were CMZ. I don't remember the rest. You might want to keep an eye out for it. " Weevil adds before hanging up the phone.

Veronica pulls into a parking space before grabbing a bag from the backseat. She waits at the door before spotting someone coming up the walkway. "Hey, can let me in? I think I left my key at my boyfriend's."

Nodding in commiseration, the girl pulls out her key. "I've done that before. You should make sure you try and find it. They charge you ten bucks for a new one you know!" she adds as she holds the door open.

Rolling her eyes, she nods. "Yeah, I know. I hope I find it tomorrow or my roommate's going to freak out and want to get the locks changed." Veronica follows the girl into hallway. "Thanks for letting me in!" she adds as she waves in appreciation. She walks down the hall and drops her bag in the curtained area before turning on the shower. Looking around to make sure the bathroom was empty, she pops out her contacts and regretfully drops her wig, a small container and her colored contacts in the trash. She grimaces slightly at the lack of water pressure before grabbing her loofah and stepping under the spray to scrub herself thoroughly. She turns off the spray and towels off quickly before standing in front of the mirror. Turning around, she looks at all of her skin not covered by the brief towel.

"Are you looking for a drunken tattoo or something?"

Blushing slightly at being caught staring at herself in the mirror, Veronica points to herself before rolling her eyes. "Me and tequila? Never again!" She smiles as the other girl grimaces. "Looks like you've had a bad night as well?"

Shaking her head, the girl holds her pajama shirt away from her body. "Yeah, my roommate just threw up on me." She looks at the clock on the wall and scowls. "I promised my parents I'd meet them for breakfast but now I need a shower which is going to wake me up so I can't get back to sleep and it's already Sunday morning."

"I guess it's just another crazy night at San Diego State!" Veronica quips.

"Yeah, some night." the girl mutters before heading towards the showers.

Looking at the clock on the wall, Veronica nods in satisfaction before grabbing her duffel and heading back to her car.

"Did you enjoy your visit to Mexico?" the guard asks as he shines his flashlight into the truck.

"Yes, sir. I wish I could have stayed longer." Logan replies as he tries to wipe the impatient look off his face.

"Got any contraband in the vehicle, son?"

"No sir. Just got my surfboard." He adds a sincere smile. "The waves were great."

"I'll need to see some identification please." the guard states as he holds out his hand for the documentation.

Veronica pulls into the parking lot of the Neptune Grand before resting her head on the steering wheel and turning off the ignition. She lets out a tired sigh and drops the keys in the glove box as she steps out of the car. Glancing at her watch, she rubs her hand over her face, hoping to look a little less tired. She walks through the front entrance before turning down the corridor on the first floor, bypassing the main lobby. Grimacing, she looks down. "Go go Gadget-feet!" She shakes her head in disappointment before opening the stairway door and trudging upwards. She stops on the third level before glancing around and stepping into the hallway. Walking over to the elevator, she hits the button before getting in and leaning against the wall as she waits to reach the penthouse. "If I had known aiding and abetting would be so tiring, I would have charged." she mumbles to herself as her eyes close. The faint ding wakes her from her half-sleep and she stumbles tiredly to the door, slipping the key card into the lock. Walking into the bedroom, she throws her bag onto the floor before putting her toiletries away in the bathroom and changing into a pair of cotton pants and a tank top. She yawns loudly before pulling the covers back, almost fully asleep before her head hits the pillow.

Logan pulls away from the Mar's apartment complex, unsurprised when he fails to spot a black LeBaron or a blue Impala. Deciding to go back home before he falls asleep at the wheel, he pulls into the parking lot of the Neptune Grand, almost stalling his truck when he spots a black LeBaron and a rusty blue Impala matching Weevil's description. He grabs his phone from the dash before hitting redial. "Hey. She's at the Neptune Grand."

"You don't think she's with Gant, do you?" Weevil asks after a long pause.

Logan switches off his ignition before slamming the door of his truck. "All I know is that even if she and Duncan broke up, I'm pretty sure he didn't give her permission to use the penthouse as her little love nest." he retorts grimly.

"What are you going to do?"

Striding through the lobby, he punches the button for the elevator before replying to Weevil. "Let's just say if Casey's there she's going to have explaining to do and housekeeping will need to figure out how to get his blood out of the carpeting."

"Want me to come over?" Weevil offers.

"Thanks, man but don't worry. I still have no intention of following in my father's footsteps. Casey will just have a few less teeth and look a lot less pretty after I'm done." Logan smiles grimly before hitting the button for the penthouse again, his muscles tensed and ready for a fight. Unable to wait, he steps out of the elevator before the doors fully open and stands in front of the door. He listens intently, unable to hear the TV or stereo as he slides his key into the lock and opens the door. The faint light from the hallway spills into the entrance and drops his bag on the floor quietly as he leaves the light off. Walking softly, he does a quick circuit of the suite before relaxing as he finds her sleeping soundly, completely alone. He heads back to the penthouse door and shuts it softly before grabbing his bag from the hallway and making his way to his bathroom. A tired sigh escapes him as he washes the salt, sand and tension from his body, the warm water soothing him before he steps out and dries his hair. Padding over to his dresser, he grabs a pair of boxers and slides them on before slipping into bed and falling asleep.

Veronica surfaces from the depths of sleep to notice the warm weight of an arm and leg thrown over her body. Suddenly awake, she pushes at the arm before voicing her protest. "Logan!"

"Need I remind you that you're the one that was sleeping in _my_ bed…if anyone should be squealing in maidenly outrage it should be _me_", Logan sleepily retorts as he snuggles her closer to his body. "Go back to sleep, Veronica. You can explain why you're in my bed and where you were all weekend in the morning. Knowing you, I'm sure the explanation will be interesting, but as long as Casey's not involved, I don't care." Logan murmurs honestly before drifting off to sleep, his body draped comfortably around Veronica.

Veronica's eye widen in surprise at the mention of Casey's name. She listens quietly and relaxes as she hears Logan's soft snores, his arm and leg deadweight around her. Giving into temptation, she snuggles back against him before drifting off to sleep as her exhaustion overwhelms her.

"Open up! Police!"

"Hmm. I'm going to assume the explanations will need to wait until after the morning raid." He smirks as he feels Veronica tense in his arms and turn around to face him.

"Logan, I'm sorry…" She looks at him nervously as he kisses her forehead and rolls his eyes.

"Don't worry. I know you drove down to Ensenada with Mac and drove back with me" he recites dutifully. He gives her a playful slap on the hip. "Up and at'em Sugar Puss, before the police break down the door."

"You're taking this awfully well" Veronica mentions suspiciously as Logan throws her a robe.

He grins evilly before leering at her. "Don't worry. I can be bribed to keep my silence, Mars." He pulls on his own robe before gesturing at her outfit. "By the way, while I like Ninja Turtles as much as the next guy, those pajamas will not be part of the sexual fantasy the necessary bribery will entail."

Snorting in response, Veronica rolls her eyes. "Only you could use 'Ninja Turtles' and 'sexual fantasy' in the same sentence."

"What can I say? You inspire me!" he smirks as he adjusts his robe.

Veronica grimaces as the pounding continues and heads to the front door, Logan slightly trailing behind her.

Smiling brightly, he throws open the door with a flourish. "Oh goody, the police!" He stands in the doorway, blocking the entrance. "Do what do I owe this dubious pleasure, gentlemen?"

"Maybe they're soliciting donations to the Policeman's ball?" Veronica offers facetiously.

Sherriff Lamb shifts his gaze to stare at Veronica. "We're here regarding the disappearance of Meg Manning and Duncan Kane and the possible abduction of Grace Manning."

Feigning shock, Veronica grasps the door handle. "The Mannings think Meg and Duncan abducted Grace? I take it she wasn't locked in the closet like a good little girl?" She feels Logan tense behind her at the implication. "Why don't you try prosecuting the real criminals for once, Lamb? If the Mannings didn't abuse their youngest daughter, maybe Meg wouldn't have been tempted to run off with her?"

Pointing a finger at Veronica, Lamb warns, "I know you're behind this, Mars. You're not going to get away with it."

Logan looks around in consternation before asking, "Did anyone else just hear a maniacal laugh and voice saying 'I'm going to get you my pretty?" He smirks slightly as Lamb turns his glare on him.

"Where were you between Friday afternoon and Saturday night, Mars?"

Veronica slips her hand into Logan's deliberately. "I was in Ensenada. With my boyfriend" she adds.

Looking down at his notepad, Lamb smirks. "That's funny, but when we asked your father, he said you were with a Miss Cindy Mackenzie."

"I drove down with Mac, aka Cindy Mackenzie and both of us spent the weekend surfing with Logan, Dick and Cassidy Casablancas."

A smirk crosses Lamb's face as he taps his pencil against his chin. "Your Dad seemed mighty surprised when I told him that Cindy Mackenzie reported you drove back with your boyfriend. I guess you didn't want to tell him you were dating an accused murderer, huh?"

Veronica looks at him in disgust. "I suppose it was important for you to tell him that information, Deputy?"

Lamb shrugs in response. "Call it a professional courtesy. We worked together for years and I'm sure you Dad wanted to know who is little angel is dating." He glances at Logan before shaking his head in mock disappointment. "He didn't seem too happy about it, but it sounded like he was stuck in Vegas tracking a bail jumper." He leans in before confiding, "You probably should expect a phone call from dear old Dad soon since I don't think he likes your boyfriend."

Logan looks down at his ankle bracelet before glaring at Lamb. "Yeah, I don't think Mr. Mars likes guys with excessive jewelry, what's your point?" he asks sarcastically.

"My point is that it's not much of a leap from accused murderer to child kidnapper." Enjoying the flare of anger in the young man's eyes, Lamb glances pointedly at the ankle bracelet. "So you were in Ensenada?"

"Yes, but don't worry, I got permission from my parole officer in lieu of Daddy dearest." Logan retorts.

Veronica folds her arms in front of her chest before rolling her eyes. "Is there a point to any of this, Officer?"

Glancing down at his notepad, he lifts his gaze to stare at Veronica. "Duncan Kane's SUV was spotted crossing the border into Mexico on Friday night, but I suppose you know nothing about that, right?" he asks sarcastically.

"Wow. You win a kewpie doll for that one, Sheriff!" Veronica sighs before repeating patiently. "I was in Ensenada at that time. With my boyfriend. I can draw you a diagram if it will help you to grasp the concept. " She shakes her head in exasperation. "I assume Duncan was driving? Did they get a picture?"

"Actually, a woman was driving his SUV" he contradicts as he smirks. "Still have nothing to say?"

"You mean other than I was in Ensenada, with my boyfriend?" she retorts. "Do they have a description of the driver?"

"Black hair. Brown eyes. Medium tan." He reports before looking at her. "About your height."

Veronica smirks slightly before brushing her blonde hair behind her ear and lifting her pale arm for inspection. "Well, unless it's now a crime to be short, that pretty much rules me out!"

"You think you're pretty smart, don't you, Mars?" Lamb asks idly. He pulls a warrant out of his back pocket before slapping it against Logan's chest. "We have a warrant to search the premises." He glances at the officers behind him. "I want you to look for black wigs of any kind, colored contacts and professional pancake make-up, like the kind they use in movies." He waits for the deputies to brush past him before pointing at Veronica threateningly. "We find anything and you're going down as an accomplice to kidnapping, Mars and not even your Daddy will be able to help you!"

Veronica steps out of the way and gestures for Lamb to come in. She looks down at her bare feet before glancing at him. "I would tell you that I'm shaking in my boots, but well, it doesn't look like I'm wearing any."

Logan smirks at Lamb. "Housekeeping hasn't been by yet, so if you want to fluff the pillows as well, that would be great!"

Veronica trails after the officers, unsurprised by the mess they were making. She glances at Logan before winking. "I think you're going to have to tip Housekeeping extra today, honey."

Kissing Veronica's hand, he bows slightly. "Well, whatever we can do to support law and order, right Sugarpuss?"

Lamb growls in frustration before slamming the bathroom drawer shut. Yelling for his deputies, he looks from Veronica to Logan before pointing at them both. "This isn't over, not by a long shot!"

Following Lamb, to the entrance Veronica shrugs helplessly. "I'm sorry we couldn't be of help, Sherriff but I hope you find them soon!"

"We'll make sure we call you if we hear from them!" Logan adds before looking at Lamb earnestly. "It sounds like Grace maybe in danger with Duncan and Meg."

Nodding solemnly, Veronica confirms. "Yeah, they're definitely the kind of people that would give a kid ice cream for dinner. She could get cavities."

"It's probably better that she's locked in a closet rather than gets cavities, so we'll definitely call!" Logan responds facetiously as Lamb glares at them both. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he quirks an eyebrow as he stands in the entrance. "Unless there's anything else we can help you gentlemen with, you did interrupt my beauty sleep."

Veronica leans against the wall before confiding, "He does get upset when he doesn't think he looks pretty, so it's probably best he gets back to his nap."

"Failure to report any contact from Meg Manning or Duncan Kane or failure to report any information pertaining to their whereabouts will result in obstruction of justice and accessory to kidnapping charges." Lamb warns before striding down the hallway, his deputies following behind him.

She waits for Logan to shut the door before slumping against the wall in relief. "Well, that was fun. It's too bad we can't wake up like that every morning!"

Smirking slightly, Logan looks at the closed door. "You realize the ice bitch is going to come blowing in here like a blue Norther any time now, wondering where we stashed her son."

Veronica nods before mentioning wryly. "My Dad probably won't be far behind."

Logan snickers softly. "Since neither of those things sounds appealing, how about we do something else?"

"Like what?" She asks suspiciously as she tightens the string tie on her pants.

Grinning in response, he skips down the hallway slightly before turning to face her. "How about we go bowling?"

A small grin crosses Veronica's face as she ponders the idea. "Okay. It's a deal as long as you can promise not to lick the bowling ball and break into a dance every time you make a strike."

Logan winks before retorting. "Well, I can promise not to lick the bowling ball but I may get overwhelmed and need to celebrate my bowling prowess through dance."

"We still have to deal with the Fitzpatricks you know" Veronica cautions, trying to stop Logan for getting too giddy. She looks at him with determination, before adding, "As your trial date gets closer, they'll definitely make sure they're talking to Dr Griffith to go over his testimony and we'll have it all recorded."

Looking reassured at her confidence, he glances at his ankle before smirking. "I'm not really into bracelets, so it will be nice when this is finally gone." He holds out his hands as he walks into the bedroom. "I don't know about you, Sugar Puss but I still feel like bowling before the Furies of Hell descend upon us. What do you say?"

Veronica grins slightly. "Okay, I can put up with the dancing but the first time I catch you licking the bowling ball, I'm out of there!"

"It's a deal." Logan replies. He stops walking to give Veronica another leer. "You know, even though Duncan's my best friend, you still owe me for my silence, Mars."

Smirking, Veronica quirks her eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah, but we'll get dressed and go bowling first." He looks at Veronica's outfit again in consideration. "Normally, I wouldn't make this kind of exception, but maybe we can work those Ninja Turtle pajamas into the equation."

Veronica rolls her eyes before grabbing her clothes from her duffel bag and grinning. "You know, I always knew you were a pervert, Echolls."


	10. Chapter 10

Author: rowanlove/rowanceleste  
Pairing / Character: Logan, Veronica, Duncan, Meg, V/L UST  
Rating: R for language and some sexual situations  
Word Count: 2,800  
Summary: AU starting from Ahoy Mateys. Meg is not pregnant. Veronica is finally reaching the conclusion that normal isn't everything it's cracked up to be…  
Spoilers / Warnings: Through "Ahoy Mateys" (2x08). Possible spoilers up to 2x11 although it's AU from 2x08  
Author's note: Needless to say, I originally ended the story at 'Part Xb', but I was inspired (and prodded) to continue. Hee. **Feedback is love.** I hope this chapter isn't too boring, but I needed it to get them back in the swing of things.

Part XI

"So how was your weekend?" Casey asks as he waits for Veronica to finish chewing her food.

"Best weekend of her life, right, Sugar Puss?" Logan answers for her, dropping a kiss onto her forehead as he sits down next to her. Ignoring her look of surprise, he places a carton of Chinese food in front of her. "Shrimp lo mein, your favorite."

"Veronica and I went surfing with Logan, Dick and Cassidy this weekend," Mac adds, hoping to break the awkward silence that suddenly enveloped the lunch table. She shifts uncomfortably as three sets of eyes quickly focus on her. "It was fun," Mac trails off quietly.

"I didn't know you surfed, Veronica. I could have come with if you wanted to surf instead of go to the movies," Casey interjects as Logan shakes his head.

"Sorry, dude. There was only so much room in the 'casa', and you're not my type. Veronica's a much better looking roommate." Smirking, Logan moves closer to Veronica, gloating inwardly at the crestfallen expression on Casey's face.

Casey gestures between the two of them. "Ohh. Does that mean you guys got back together again?"

"It's complicated," Veronica answers, pinching Logan under the table. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner," she continues, shrugging helplessly at Casey in apology. Glancing sideways, she notes the brief flash of pain on Logan's face has wiped away his gloating smirk.

Shrugging, Casey plasters a smile on his face. "No worries, I was just surprised, that's all." Gathering up the remains of his lunch, he places it on his tray. "I should go."

"You don't have to leave, Casey. You can still sit with us," Veronica protests. She grabs his hand. "My friends are always welcome, and you've been a really good friend to me," she adds sincerely.

Logan places a proprietary arm around Veronica's shoulder, ignoring the slight tension in her body. "Hey, man, as long as you don't have a problem with us being together, I don't have a problem with you." He gestures back towards the table. "Why don't you sit down?"

Casey finally nods and sits back down at the table. Feeling tension drain from Veronica's body, a happy smile gracing her lips, Logan squeezes her knee. He holds out his arm, bumping fists with Casey, unsurprised when Veronica suddenly starts digging into her Chinese food, her appetite restored. Relaxing, Logan shoots a smile at Mac. "So Mac, when are you and Beaver going out again?"

"Dude!" Dick exclaims as he heads over to the table, Cassidy following close behind. He sits down before looking around in confusion. "This so not our usual table. Why are we sitting here?" Ignoring his little brother as he sits down next to Mac, Dick punches Logan in the arm and chortles gleefully. "You'll never guess what I just heard, man!"

"Hi, Dick. Hi Cassidy." Veronica smiles at the dark haired boy, now quietly whispering in Mac's ear. Returning Cassidy's shy acknowledging wave, Veronica quirks her eyebrow at Dick. "So, what's this exciting news you're dying to share with us, Dick? Did one of the cheerleaders forget her sports bra again?"

Leaning forward, Dick nudges Logan in appreciation before leering at Veronica. "I heard you guys were caught in bed together by Sheriff Lamb, and Ronnie flashed the Sheriff so Meg and Duncan could take off down the stairs and make their getaway!"

Veronica glares at Dick, ignoring the yelp he emits as Logan smacks him on the back of his head. "That's not quite what happened," she states in exasperation.

"Miss Mars. Mr. Echolls. My office, if you would," Principal Clemmons interrupts what looks to be the beginning of a fight. Noting the way the two glance at each other in surprise, followed by identical looks of resignation, the principal sighs. "Why do I get the impression you both know what this is regarding?" He waits for them to gather their belongings before ushering them towards his office.

Principal Clemmons gestures for them to take seats and waits for them to sit down before returning to his desk. Waving toward the other occupants of the room, he announces, "Miss Mars, Mr. Echolls. Mr. and Mrs Kane would like to take a few moments to ask you some questions about their son. I didn't see the harm, so I have allowed this meeting."

"Sheriff Lamb already searched Logan and Duncan's hotel room, and we answered his questions," Veronica states clearly, her fingers tapping the edge of her arm rest.

"We know you answered the Sheriff's questions, but that man is barely competent enough to tie his own shoelaces, let alone question people," Mrs Kane interjects. She visibly calms as her husband squeezes her hand gently. "Veronica, if you care anything at all about my son, you'll tell us where Duncan went. That girl is going to ruin his life. He won't even be able to graduate high school if they're on the run." A look of steely determination crosses Celeste's face. "Jake and I will pay your full tuition at any college you choose, just tell us how to find Duncan."

Clenching her fingers on the armrest, Veronica leans forward in her chair and opens her mouth. Unable to help herself, she stands, prevented from approaching Mrs. Kane only by Logan's hand on her arm. She takes a deep breath and sits down again, faintly pleased by the wary look on Celeste's face. "First of all, I thought I was the one who ruined Duncan's life? Apparently, I've been replaced by Meg," she quips, ignoring Celeste's glare. "Second, and this one is important, so pay attention: you and Mr. Kane _will_ be paying for my full college tuition, but that's only because I intend to win the Kane Scholarship.

"Last, but not least, if you want your son to return home, you should focus your clout on getting the Mannings investigated for child abuse. Sheriff Lamb already has evidence of psychological abuse, since he found Grace locked in her own closet, but you know he doesn't like crossing the 09ers," Veronica concludes. She looks towards Principal Clemmons. "Other than that, I have nothing further to say."

Nodding in response, Mr. Clemmons glances toward Logan. "Mr. Echolls, do you have anything you'd like to add?"

Logan glances towards Veronica before nodding to Mr. Clemmons' question. Ignoring Veronica's half-voiced protest, he confirms, "Yes, I have something to say." He looks toward Jake Kane before answering, "Duncan still owes me $300 from the last time we played poker, so if anyone runs into him, I'd like it back."

Seeing the brief smile cross Jake's face, Logan ignores the glare of Celeste Kane's eyes. "Logan, this isn't a laughing matter. The police are after him." Glancing at the place where his ankle bracelet is hidden by his pants leg, Celeste sniffs in disdain. "Now, maybe being wanted by the police isn't a big deal for you, but Duncan has his whole life ahead of him. You've been best friends since kindergarten. Don't let Duncan throw his life away for some girl!"

Shaking his head, Logan glances towards Veronica. "Sorry, Mrs. Kane, you may not understand this, but some girls are worth it." Ignoring the faint blush coating Veronica's cheeks, he returns the unconscious smile she flashes him before turning back to Principal Clemmons. "If this trial is over, I'm pretty sure my French fries are getting cold."

Standing up, Mr. Clemmons walks around his desk, gesturing for the two teenagers to stand. "I don't think there's anything further. Thank you for your cooperation. You may return to lunch." Feeling the Kanes standing at his back, Principal Clemmons waits for Logan and Veronica to disappear down the hallway before stepping out of the Kanes' way. "Mr. Kane. Mrs. Kane. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

Nodding stiffly, Mrs. Kane places a hand on Mr. Clemmons' arm. "If you hear anything, or if Veronica tells you anything, please let us know, right away."

A closed expression settles on Mr. Clemmons face. "If I find out any information, I will, as principal, cooperate to the full extent of the law. All my students are important to me, Mrs. Kane. That includes your son and Miss Manning."

"Thank you for your help, Van." Mr. Kane shakes the principal's hand, easing the stiff tension from the room.

Nodding solemnly, Mr. Clemmons returns the handshake. "You're welcome. I only wish this visit had been under better circumstances. Rest assured, I will let you know if I hear any information about your son's whereabouts."

"Where are you going? We're supposed to go back to lunch!" Veronica asks, trying to ignore the tugging on her arm. Glancing around the parking lot, she realizes Logan is heading towards the Xterra. "What is it? Is there something you need to tell me? Logan!"

Ignoring the persistent questions from behind him, Logan tows Veronica along until they reach his car. Popping open the locks, he pushes her into the backseat, following quickly behind her.

"What?" Veronica asks in exasperation, moving so she's no longer twisted awkwardly on the seat and can face Logan. Noting the intent look on his face, she scoots back warily. "What is it?" she asks again, somewhat breathlessly.

Holding out his hand, Logan starts ticking off a list on his fingers. "Your father thinks we're dating, right?" He waits for her nod before continuing. "Both my friends and your friends think we're dating. Even the Sheriff's department thinks we're dating…so my question is, why aren't we participating in the fun parts of dating?" Grabbing her hand, he runs his fingers over her knuckles before bringing her hand to his lips. "If we already have to deal with your curfew, the whispers behind our backs, and your Dad wanting to kill me, we should at least get some benefit of it."

Smiling, Veronica moves forward along the seat until her knees touch Logan's. She cups his face, smoothing her thumb over his lip before giving him a challenging look. "What kind of benefits were you thinking about?" She giggles suddenly as Logan lunges forward and pulls her into his lap.

Kissing her lips, he rests his forehead against hers for a minute. "The kind of benefits that make me forget your Dad probably has his shotgun loaded and primed." Slipping his hands under her shirt, he runs them up her back, sliding his tongue into her mouth as she wraps her arms around his shoulders.

Pulling him closer, Veronica returns his kiss, gasping softly as he detours down her neck. She runs her hands through his hair, throwing her head back as he sucks on her pulse point. "Oh God, Logan," she moans, lost in the feel of his mouth against her skin.

The sudden knock on the window causes her to pull away, looking to see who interrupted them. Smirking at Logan's muttered, 'Fuck!' she buries her head in his shoulder. Pressing a kiss to his cheek, she hugs him close. "Well, at least it's not my Dad and his shotgun," Veronica offers as she holds the disgruntled boy in her arms.

"Yeah, your Dad would at least have a reason to interrupt us. Weevil obviously just has a death wish," Logan grumbles. He kisses her again, and helps her slide from his lap. Glancing out the window, he rolls his eyes when he confirms it's Weevil, standing patiently, a few feet away. "You think if we ignore him, he'll go away?" he asks hopefully, reluctant to stop what they had been doing.

Looking out the window, Veronica shakes her head. "I kind of doubt it. We should go see what he wants." She pushes Logan towards the door, ignoring his dire mutterings about unwelcome interruptions.

Weevil shoves his hands into his jacket as the couple finally joins him outside the Xterra. Ignoring the scowl on Logan's face, he turns to Veronica. "Look, I'm glad you lovebirds finally pulled your heads out of your asses, but we still need to prove that the Fitzpatricks killed Felix."

"And I was getting so attached to my ankle bracelet," Logan retorts. "I get that your friend is dead, and his killer is free, but this is no picnic for me, either." He jerks a thumb in Veronica's direction. "I may not ever be good enough for Keith Mars' little girl, but I guarantee you the murder rap hanging over my head isn't going to win me any points with the former Sheriff."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Weevil watches as Veronica slips her hand into Logan's. "So, what are we gonna do? We don't have detention together anymore, but we need to keep working to prove those micks killed Felix. I need to know this thing with Duncan hasn't distracted you from our mutual agenda."

Veronica widens her eyes dramatically, holding a hand to her chest. "Eli. I can't believe you'd think I had anything to do with Duncan's disappearance. I'm just as shocked and baffled as the rest of you."

Weevil snickers softly. "Save it for someone that doesn't know any better, Mars. I heard the Mannings were up to no good anyway, so its no skin off my nose. That kid is probably better off. I just didn't want some pesky police or FBI investigation distracting you from Felix's case."

"Veronica was with me the entire weekend," Logan interjects, interlacing his fingers with his girlfriend's.

Weevil nods again. "I'm sure there's probably a boatload of 09er's who are willing to swear to that fact, aren't there? Anyway, as long as the FBI isn't about to toss Veronica in jail, we shouldn't have a problem."

"The 'man' ain't got nothing on me!' Veronica declares. She pulls out her cell phone, smirking at the two boys. "But…"

"But what? Why don't you spill whatever you got brewing in that brain of yours?" Weevil encourages.

Veronica smiles conspiratorially. "How much do you want to bet that, between the potential of 'kidnapping across state lines', and the fact that Duncan is the 'much beloved son of billionaires', there's a warrant in place to tap the cell phone of the 'prime suspect in Duncan and Meg's disappearance'?" Looking from Logan to Weevil, she smirks and taps her cell phone. "That would be me, by the way," she unnecessarily adds.

"Are you thinking about planting some information in Federal ears about Felix Toombs' murder?" Logan asks in admiration.

Veronica shrugs innocently. "Hey, tap a girl's cell phone, and who knows the gold mine of information that might fall into someone's lap? I'm sure the Feds have wanted to pin something on the Fitzpatricks for a long time. Why not make it a little easier for them?"

"Have I told you how much I admire your devious mind?" Logan mentions.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," Veronica teases. She glances at her watch, reaching into the Xterra to grab her shoulder bag. "Well, I don't know about you boys, but since I just threw it in Celeste's face that I'm going to win the Kane Scholarship, I need to get to class." Quirking an eyebrow at Logan, she waits for him to grab her hand. "Bye, Weevil."

Heading back towards the school, Logan smirks at Veronica. "You do realize I didn't promise Celeste _I_ was going win the Kane Scholarship?"

"I know, but if Celeste Kane thinks I'm going to let being falsely accused of murder ruin your future, she's been hitting the crazy sauce too much. You're just as intelligent as Duncan, and you can have whatever future you want," Veronica mutters darkly, dragging Logan towards the school entrance.

"Veronica?" Logan waits for her to stop, and pulls her into his arms. "Thanks. For helping me with the Felix thing, for caring whether or not I go to class. Even if it's just to get back at Celeste, it's nice."

"It's not all about Celeste, Logan," Veronica admits, uncomfortable with the level of honesty. She smiles before tugging on his hand again. "Come on. Let's get to class while your head still fits through the front doors." Turning around to face him, she quickly plants a kiss on his lips. "Play your cards right, and you'll be greatly rewarded."

"If I had known the rewards for going to class were greater than merely my high school diploma, I would have gone more often," Logan replies, wiggling his eyebrows.

Smirking, Veronica pushes him towards his classroom. "Go. Learn. Meet me at Java the Hut, after school."

Throwing her a quick salute, Logan strolls into class, pulling out the permission slip Veronica shoved into his pocket. He presents it to his teacher with a flourish, a small smile gracing his lips as he drops into his seat, looking forward to the day's end.


End file.
